Umino Bri
by WindowBirds
Summary: A woman is found welding a strange weapon and a determined heart. Is Iruka really as alone as he thought? TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence, alcohol abuse
1. Chapter 1

An armed woman is found lurking around Konoha a few months after the Forth Great Ninja War. She is quickly captured by the Anbu and taken into custody. The young blonde fully cooperates with procedure and questioning. She reveals that she is looking for the last remaining member of her family, a man she believes is living in the village. She explains that she is Umino Bri, the daughter of Umino Ikkaku, a man which she never met but received news of his death many years ago.

Raised by her mother in a small village in the Land of Fire, she would often hear stories from her mother of Ikkaku. Bri's mother Chisai adored Ikkaku, but she was a very lonely and weak woman. Chisai had no problem overlooking his obviously unfaithful ways. After Ikkaku learned of Chisai's pregnancy (afraid news of his adultery would reach his wife and now three year old son) he stopped his monthly visits to the village. All Bri knew of her father was that he was a Hidden Leaf shinobi, and his family name which (because of her mother's slight obsession with Ikkaku) she was raised under.

Bri explains that her village was decimated before the war by the notorious Akatsuki. At the time Bri was away for the village looking for supplies. Having returned to her home to find everyone dead, including her mother, she left the village. She had since been wandering not sure what to do with herself. During this time she learned of the war hero Naruto from a wounded shinobi discharged from the war. This man had heard all about Naruto's life from a man that knew very much about the war hero first hand, Naruto's own sensei Umino Iruka. Extremely intrigued, Bri left at once to find Konoha and the man called Iruka…

* * *

" **What** the hell is this and where did it come from?!" Tsunade was close to tears looking at the two weapons brought into her office by the Anbu shinobi.

"These are the weapons taken from the woman we found on the outskirts of the village; Tsunade-sama is there a problem?"

"Yes! Yes there is! Bring that woman in right now!" As the Anbu shuffled out of her office Tsunade pushed the katana to the edge of her desk. The other weapon was of much more concern. The Hokage had never seen anything like it before, it was heavier than expected. _A cold, metal … miniature cannon?_ It had some type of trigger and a hallow barrel around 8 inches long. It fit easily in her hand, and the metallic surface reflected her obviously distressed face right back at her. It wasn't the weapon itself that concerned her but the small engraved letters at the bottom of the handle. The same two initials were also engraved on the tamahagane blade of the katana. "M.K" Meruto Kinzoku. Tsunade was sure of it. Only he could make a weapon this intimidating, and she hadn't even seen it in action yet.

Just then, the doors of the Hokage's office burst open and a slender blonde woman around 23 years old entered, she was accompanied by Yamato and three other Anbu shinobi. The woman looked completely dehydrated and exhausted; she must have come a long way in a short time.

"What are you doing with these weapons?" Tsunade spat out before she could even ask who the blonde woman was.

"They're my only possessions…" The woman said, barely audible. "If you give them back I will leave. They're very important to me, more important than finding Iruka." Her yellow hair is wet from sweat and tears.

 _Iruka?_ The Hokage is quickly becoming more impatient. "Okay… we will get back to the weapons, first of all who are you? And what to you want with Iruka?"

After a slow deep breath the woman said "I already explained everything to these men, but to make a long story short I believe he is my brother and just wish to meet with him, that is all." a short pause and then "My name is Umino Bri, my village has been destroyed and I no longer wish to be alone…actually, I never wished to be alone, but shit happens."

Tsunade is stunned; she looks around at the Anbu team, the blank expressions of their masks starred back at her. What an interesting day this has become.

"Alright, this is news to me but I'll accept it for now. What I really need to know is how you acquired these weapons from Kinzoku." Tsunade sounds angry and desperate at the same time

"Kinzoku was my sensei." Bri said with a small amount of concern in her voice as she analyzes Tsunade, who still looks like she is about to start crying.

" _Was_ your sensei? So he's dead." Now everyone in the room could see the tears brimming on the edges of the Hokage's eyes.

"Yes, did you know him?" Bri said with a voice so soft it was as though she trained her whole life in consoling.

Tsunade sat straight up and looked the blonde directly in the eye, her face now hard and determined. "Of course I did, he was the best ninja tools craftsman to ever live in the village…and he was my younger brother's sensei as well."

* * *

 **The** slender woman looked down and closed her eyes. _Of course, Kinzoku-sensei had a life before me._ It would be silly of her to think otherwise, but he had been a mystery to her and to her village. Bri had always been a very passive person when it came to her sensei. He spoke about the situations at hand and the future, but never his past, and Bri never pried. It wasn't that she was afraid, it was more so out of empathy, she could tell that he came for a life of great pain, maybe even loss. No one is just born with the compassion that Kinzoku had, the blonde learned this first hand. So, for all Bri knew he was born and raised in her tiny village selling weapons to the great nations. That was the reality that she accepted.

She felt a slight pain of jealously towards the Hokage. This woman obviously knew Kinzoku on a level Bri had never reached, and now never will. She suddenly wanted to know everything.

"I'm sorry; I don't know much of anything about his past." Bri was still looking at the floor. _He was from Konoha of all places_? As she processed this information, Bri realized that it all made sense, people from villages outside Konoha were never top par ninja, and Kinzoku-sensei never mentioned where or how he became so proficient.

"He disappeared after my brother died," Tsunade suddenly interrupted Bri's thoughts. "No one could find him; Anbu had been looking for him since the second Hokage was in power". Bri looked up blinking. _Was sensei really that important?_ Tsunade continued "I knew he was still alive, his weapons kept turning up around the world, I even went to go look for him myself after the second Great War."

Bri's eyebrows crinkled, her face contorted in confusion, she started "He was a good man; I could never see him hurting a child. He loved children more than he loved himself." Bri sounded a bit desperate at this point.

"I know that. We weren't pursuing him because he hurt Nawaki; it was because he loved him." Tsunade put her elbow on the desk and rested her forehead onto her hand, looking down "All I wanted was to hear stories of my brother, I needed someone to comfort me, it was because of my selfish request that the mission had been going on for so long." Tears started to pool on the desk in front of the Hokage, she didn't look up "Please put this woman in a cell, then return for your orders".

A girl raised under Kinzoku was most likely worth trusting, but then again the same girl could be a very dangerous threat to the village. Kinzoku was a top notch ninja, not just anyone gets appointed to be the sensei of Senju children. A person with this much potential cannot just be left to roam the village alone, even without her weapons. Tsunade wanted to believe the girl, she saw Kinzoku's will in her eyes, or at least she thought she did. It was a gamble, but that's something Tsunade couldn't resist.

After a while, Yamato and the rest of the Anbu team come back for their orders. "Alright, I'm going to let this girl stay and meet Iruka."

Yamato stood up straighter and scratched his head "Tsunade-sama, are you sure about this? She could very well be lying about Kinzoku, it's not like she knew much about him."

Tsunade looked as stern as ever as she pretty much ignores Yamato's comment "If Iruka doesn't wish to meet with her, then that is that, I won't force him into an uncomfortable situation." Tsunade stands up "I think the boys should meet her first, if they feel she is a threat we can call this whole thing off, alright Yamato?"

Yamato relaxes a bit "I agree, what are the official orders Hokage-sama?" As Tsunade walks toward her office door she turns and says in a relaxed tone "You three, gather the boys. Yamato, stay with Bri-san and take her downstairs when they arrive."


	2. Chapter 2

**"** **So…do you talk Kitty-san?"** Yamato immediately feels ridiculous behind his cat shaped mask. The blonde woman seems extremely too relaxed for the situation, her aura much more upbeat than in the Hokage's office. "…guess not, what a drag."

 _I'm working Anbu right now; I shouldn't speak to anyone especially gorgeous, slightly intimidating captive women_ … _Oh my god I can't believe I'm even thinking about it._ "Are you like, afraid of me or something? You shouldn't be. You guys are pretty good. I mean, I knew you were there, but the wood style was surprising to say the least."

Yamato crosses his arms and sits up in his chair, which is placed next to the cell. _I knew she noticed us; this isn't an ordinary girl at all._

Bri continues "That was you wasn't it Kitty-san? I thought that kekkei genkai was just a legend. A rare ability like that is pretty…hot."

With this the man's face turns full on fuchsia, and he thanks god for his ridiculous _kitty_ mask, he breaks "You're really gonna need to shut up if you ever want to get out of here"

Bri stands up and skips over to the cell door placing her head between the iron bars, a huge smile across her face "HA! So you do talk! Now tell me, am I gonna get to meet my big brother?"

It's no use; the man can't restrain himself against the endearing, Naruto-like smile. "You're going to meet some men in a few minutes, they're friends of Iruka, and it's really up to them what happens from here."

The woman suddenly looks like a deflated balloon, she even sinks down and sits on the cell floor. "God, how many men am I gonna have to woo to get through this day? Ya know, that was really my mother's job, guys don't like me as much."

Yamato laughs and stands up "I really don't believe this. There is no way someone like _you_ is related to Iruka."

The blonde is now laying down on the floor of the cell, he notices for the first time that she isn't wearing any shoes, she begins "Please, don't tell me he's lame".

Another Anbu shinobi appears at the entrance of the cell block to let Yamato know the guys are ready. "Oh boy, new friends" Bri says in the most annoying and sarcastic tone possible. Yamato unlocks the cell and the three of them descend down to the meeting room.

* * *

 **When** the door opens Bri and the two men are met with three extremely unenthusiastic faces. _Well actually, one seems to be a bit interested…maybe? Seriously, what is with this village and masks?_ Bri takes a seat at the head of the table, the two Anbu behind her; the boys are seated two on the left side of the table, one on the right. _Alright, so my new friends are toothpick, eyebrows, and…oh my god even one of his eyes is covered…overly mysterious douche bag._

Bri is almost nauseous; this moment is her mother's dream come true. Flak jackets and headbands surround her. All that was missing was about 5 bottles of sake and some candles.

"Iruka's sister huh?" The overly mysterious douche bag sits back and places one arm up on the bench. After a sigh he continues "If this is a joke, it's pretty fucked up. Iruka thinks highly of his father, this could really mess him up."

Bri turns and shoots the man a looks that makes the other two men at the table tense up.

"This isn't a joke! Do you think I would look like this is this was a JOKE?!" Bri pulls a piece of paper out from the inside of her shirt and slams it on the table. The guys have all seen Iruka scold the academy students. _Okay, maybe they are related after all_.

Bri continues "Here's my birth certificate. See, my father is listed right there." The mysterious guy picks up the paper placing his elbows on the table "Okay, Umino Bri…oh, that's right, we never introduced ourselves." The man's smile is only visible through his one exposed eye "I'm Kakashi; my silent friends over here are Genma and Gai."

Bri turns to look at the silent partners and Genma gives her a nod of acknowledgment, she now turns to Gai. _Whoa, what the hell? Is this dude about to…cry?_ As soon as their eyes connect Gai bursts into tears. He stands up and comes running around the table. _Holy shit he's going to kill me!_ Bri reaches back for her katana. _SHIT, it's not…_ Suddenly, she is embraced in a strong _wet_ hug.

Gai begins "I can't believe it! Iruka's sister! This is so exciting; the fire of youth is burning bright!"

 _Oh my god, I can't breathe._

The embrace is quickly broken as the man in the cat mask pulls the hysterical Gai off. "Seriously Gai?! You need to control yourself!" The kitty man says in his ever so stern tone.

Bri brushes herself off and looks at the other two men still at the table, their once unenthused faces now blushing with awkward smiles.

"Uh wow, sorry about that." Kakashi's one eye narrows as it looks toward his black haired friend; he continues. "Unfortunately, I don't think this is enough, because of the weapons you had we're gonna need more to be able to trust you."

Bri closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before she starts "I'll tell you everything I know about Kinzoku."

* * *

 **Bri's** story had a crappy beginning, one she doesn't like to think about. Her life before Kinzoku had been repetitive and depressing. Bri would spend her days at school and her nights cleaning up empty sake bottles left by her mother the night before. Bri's mother, Chisai, had been a high functioning alcoholic. She worked at the local inn, a perfect job for a woman obsessed with handsome traveling shinobi. As a result of this, Bri became accustomed to meeting all types of drunken men. Some she liked, these were the ones that would bring her candy and laugh at her jokes, they were also the ones with which Bri learned the art of flirting. Although she was a _very_ young child, she soon figured out that with a smile, a complement, and an upbeat attitude she could acquire almost anything she wanted. (This was a trick she used almost daily, most recently on the man in the kitty mask).

But one night when Bri was seven years old her mother brought home the worst type of drunk, the kind which when they were surprised by a young child, would react with an outburst of anger. This one was particularly loud and destructive. All Chisai could do in her drunken state was look on in horror as the man destroyed the small home. Bri's usual reaction to this display was to run and hide under her bed until they both fell asleep.

Everything was going as expected until Bri heard the front door swing open and her mother scream. The blonde child closed her eyes tightly and curled up even deeper into her hiding spot. A loud hit was heard followed by a louder crash and her mother's distinctive sobbing. Her mother was saying something through her tears and a rough deep voice was conversing with her. Bri couldn't make out what they were saying, but she did hear the footsteps of a man approaching her hiding spot. As the footsteps came to a halt in front of her bed the small child opened one eye. The face of a man about fifty years old appeared.

He looked tired and stern, but when their eyes met Bri could feel the warmth radiating from his. "It's alright sweet heart; the bad man went to sleep. Please come out, we can go to my house and have some tea, your mother needs to rest."

When Bri stood up after emerging from under the bed she got a better look at the old man. She recognized him; he was her next door neighbor, a man who was always out in his yard constructing weird things she knew nothing about. She would often watch him from the tree in her own yard and the he would never fail to say good morning and give her a big happy wave. Bri didn't know much about him but she felt comfortable in his presence.

* * *

 **Now,** Bri wasn't one to recite a sob story, especially one of her own life, so she started with "Kinzoku was my next door neighbor growing up. My mother wasn't around much and we both enjoyed each other's company"

Seemingly intrigued, the Anbu behind the blonde moved to face her. Bri blushed; she hated being the center of attention, she continued "He was always making weapons and building weird contraptions, and I was there to help him test them all. Eventually, I became proficient in using every ninja tool in his collection. Most of them you guys have probably never even heard of."

Never has Bri seen a group of men so intimidated by her words, she couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry, I only carry two…or at least I did" The small woman turns her head and raises her eyebrows at the man in the cat mask "Anyway, a person with so many valuable things is bound to be a target. Kinzoku-sensei was a soft and gentle man, but he wasn't an idiot." Bri stopped and looked down at her lap. This memory always gave her anxiety; it marked a dark turning point in her life, but it was important, and she needed these men to trust her.

"I was 17 when Kinzoku-sensei was killed by the robbers. I went over to his place in the early evening; all of his most valuable tools were gone. He told me he sold them, so I had this extremely bad feeling in my stomach. He knew they were coming." The men whose faces she could see looked completely tuned in, their eye contact and serious looks forced the blonde to look back down at her lap. "That's when he gave me the gun." The two Anbu kept focused on Bri as the three other men all turned to look at each other in confusion.


	3. Chapter 3

**The lost faces of her new friends lent Bri a familiar sense of control;** she alone had the power to mold this moment. She could keep the five men completely terrified by leaving them in this state, never revealing her unknown weapon's power. This was a technique she used countless time before.

But, this wasn't the time nor the place for that. Bri had been completely alone for more than a year at this point. No former adversary could compare to the quiet terror of complete self reliance. Would revealing the gun's power forever leave Bri in a state of disadvantage? Probably, but did she even care anymore?

It was in this moment, that Bri decided to leave her past behind and put every ounce of her being into this uncertain future. _No more deception, no more needless violence_. _Fuck the gun_. Its presence led to nothing more than added grief _. I'll finally be free_.

Bri breaks the silence "He spent most of his time working on the thing. It's extremely dangerous, but I'm the only one on the planet that knows how to use it." As expected, the faces of the men began to ooze with distrust. Their once friendly aura completely dissipated.

The blonde begins damage control "Yeah, I know how that sounds, but I have no reason to ever touch that thing again. There's just something important I need from it".

Kakashi crosses his arms; the direct gaze from his one eye was almost painful "First, tell us how it works."

This was it; Bri was ready to take the burden off of herself and give it to the rest of the room. The weapon that should have never been created would no longer be a secret that she alone would carry.

"It's quite simple really, that is both the gun's greatest weakness and strength." This was it; these were the men that she would trust with all of her power "It's essentially a chakra compressor; and any five year old could kill you with it."

* * *

 **Meanwhile,** Tsunade arrived at her destination. _Ichiraku Ramen shop_. If Iruka wasn't at the academy he was almost certain to be inside the restaurant. Upon entering, the Hokage is greeted ever so formally by Ayame, and her father the shop owner is quick to jump up and hand Tsunade a menu.

Politely, Tsunade declines "I'm sorry Teuchi, I'm actually here to speak to _him."_

Hearing a voice directed at him, a flustered and nervous Iruka stands up "I, uh, Hello Hokage-sama is there something I forgot to do? I was just so stressed, uh, today the kids were learning kunai and they were way too rowdy and…"

Tsunade lets out a soft laugh "Please Iruka, you're gonna wanna sit down for this." Iruka slowly takes a seat. The Fifth Hokage knew she made him uncomfortable; Iruka was never as close to her as he was with the third.

Tsunade begins "There is a woman here, claiming to be your sister." Iruka looked like he had just been told an offensive joke.

"I know this is completely unexpected, but I wouldn't have even come to you unless the proof was strong." The man was beginning to look panicked as she continued "She has her birth certificate, with your father listed as her own. I checked out her story with neighboring villages, some people knew her and her mother."

An angry aura was forming around Iruka, his voice much darker than minutes before "I don't have a sister, I don't have a family at all."

Tsunade knew this was going to happen. She began to think that she should have taken Iruka someplace more private. "I'm sorry. Please think about this, she seems to be a good hearted woman, but we have our doubts. I'm going to have to keep her in the village for a while."

Without a word Iruka stands up and throws his money on the bar, his energy deadly, he disappears behind the hanging flags at the entrance to the shop.

* * *

 **It has been** a couple of hours since Tsunade had returned to her office from her failure of a mission. Stressed and guilt ridden for putting Iruka in such a state, she poured her fourth sake of the night. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Please come in!" as the door opened she could hear the sound of the two men speaking before they entered the room.

"Ah, Kakashi I was wondering when your meeting would end. I suspect you have come to a conclusion about the girl?" the men find their way to their seats as Tsunade continues "Yamato, there's no need for that mask anymore, I decided I don't want Anbu working this case." The man quickly removes the wooden mask placing it on his lap, as the looks down at it a small smirk appears on his face _. Fucking "kitty" mask._ _It really is ridiculous._

Kakashi clears his throat "The girl, Bri, she doesn't seem dangerous, At least not on her own. The weapon she was carrying is a much bigger concern. She explained how the mechanism worked in full detail. I think we should try it out for ourselves to see if she has given us the right information."

Tsunade sits back in her chair and take a long sip of sake before she begins "I agree, we will test the weapon and if she has given us the correct information I'll let her meet Iruka; any objections?"

Kakashi seems a bit more tense than usual as he began "The way she described the weapon is pretty alarming, it seems to be extremely simple to use and also extremely deadly, it that's true were going to have to keep it a secret from the public and other villages."

Tsunade doesn't seem too engaged in the conversation, maybe the sake was getting to her "Of course it's dangerous, this is Kinzoku's invention we're talking about... Listen, I already went and told Iruka about Bri-san. Could you both go and speak to him; he's really all I can think about at the moment."

The two men are now sitting up stiff, hands wrapped around the arms of their chairs, their identical reactions almost comical.

Yamato's voice comes out louder than anticipated "WHAT?! Um, I mean, Hokage-sama, didn't you want us to report on Bri-san before you made any moves? We could have gotten someone closer to him to...I mean, not that you…um"

Tsunade begins pouring more sake; she is sitting awkward trying to hide her face behind her blonde hair "I know. You're right, and I feel horrible. This whole day has really thrown me off; if anyone was to talk to him it should have been you two, or maybe even Naruto." She blew the hair off her sticky face, she was definitely drunk. "You guys are closest to Iruka, and you know how it feels to grow up without a family. I let my self-interest for Bri-san control my choice, I really made a selfish mistake. Please, go find him."

The two men stand up and look at each other, this weirdly intense day was never going to end.

* * *

 **Kakashi and Yamato** enter their third bar of the night. Iruka wasn't at home or any of his usual spots. The guys know Iruka isn't a big drinker, but emotional people do weird things, and apparently, go to weird bars. This particular place wasn't really frequented by anyone under the age of 67, but in the far corner a short brown pony tail stuck up from behind sleepy wrinkled faces.

"Yo! I know you don't know how to drink but, seriously?" The cheerfulness of Kakashi's voice was met with a collective eye roll from the bar. Iruka tried to raise his head, but it was just too much work at this point, he settled for propping it up on his fist. Kakashi and Yamato took their seats on either side of him.

Yamato's overly expressive face was his greatest downfall "Why the fuck are you looking at me like that? Seriously get this guy a drink; he looks like his dog just died" Iruka's slurring is at an all time high.

At first Kakashi was glad his ever-present cloth mask was there to hide his unavoidable smirk, drunken Iruka was so rude, so out of character, but he quickly remembered why he was here.

Kakashi reluctantly starts the conversation he is dreading "Look…well, this is probably the worst possible time to talk about this…"

Iruka sits up and almost falls backward off his barstool as he interrupts "Guys, I have sister. My dad was a fucking asshole and I have a god damn sister! And guess what…She's here!"

Yamato is holding Iruka's shoulder to steady him, a look of concern still stamped across his face, he chimes in "Iruka, let's get you home, you should…"

"NO! You guys know already! Why else would you be here? Did you meet her? Is this really happening?" As Iruka grew desperate with questions his eyes were filling with tears. His friends decided to stand him up and walk him home, the man was too weak now to object.

Eventually, the awkward and silent walk to Iruka's door is ended when Kakashi speaks "Iruka, I have no idea how I would react if I we're you, this kind of thing is so unexpected, I guess I just want you to know that we're here for you. Whatever you decide to do is the right thing."

Kakashi and Yamato sit Iruka down onto his front porch. He has sobered up a bit from the walk, although his eyes we're still only half way open as he spoke "I want to meet her. I don't want to be alone anymore."


	4. Chapter 4

**Early the next morning Kakashi and Yamato are making their way to the training area.** Eager to finally see the gun in person, Kakashi is walking at a much quicker pace than usual. Yamato is lagging a bit; the night before with Iruka was playing over in his mind.

"Do you think this is okay?" Yamato calls to his friend

"Well she's gonna be there so if anything thing goes wrong; she'll just be taken out."

"No, I mean do you think Iruka can handle all of this, what if she's lying?"

"If she is, this is the strangest, most thought out, infiltration of all time. Iruka isn't even a well known ninja outside of this village."

As the guys turn the corner and enter the training area they are met with an impressive set up. A mud wall has been erected one hundred feet from a bar height table. The table holds a helmet and goggles just like the ones Obito used to wear, with the ear protection attached. If the wall is the target, the distance seems pretty ambitious.

"Getting excited now?" Genma yells over to the guys as he tightens the bind around Bri's hands "She's saying the wall is a bit too close, what do you think?"

Bri looks even worse than she did the day before, she hasn't been cleared to be alone to bathe, and she definitely hadn't slept. Kakashi is silent as he looks back over at the wall. _Too close? Wow._

His thoughts are interrupted by Bri who is now being set down next to a large tree "It also isn't strong enough, well, only because you guys down know what you're doing..." Her hands are tied behind her back and her ankles bound together "…and I'm not gonna be much help like this."

Kakashi calls back at Bri "It's protocol, we're trusting you to cooperate and help us out, honestly it's a bad idea even having you here at all."

As Kakashi and Genma head to the table, Yamato walks over toward the bound blonde "You're going to go over everything again with us, and then when they begin you tell me if they're doing anything wrong, alright?"

Bri looks up at the well-built brunette "You're new" she says, although her smirk says otherwise.

"I'm Captain Yamato; I asked to be assigned to this case as well. Iruka is a close friend of mine." Yamato shoots Bri a disturbing look, one he probably uses to scare children for fun.

"Yeah, I liked you better with the cat mask" Bri replies.

Yamato turns away a little too quickly _. What the fuck? How?_

"You can hide your face but not your voice; or your walk for that matter" Bri sounds distant and uninterested.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" his pathetic attempt at a recovery is disrupted but the main event.

Tsunade enters the training ground, her pet pig trailing behind her. In her hand is the weapon they have all been waiting for. She walks right over to Yamato and Bri. When she reaches them Bri seems a bit more awake than the moment prior.

"We found this in your holster; I'm assuming it's important to you?"

Tsunade holds up a picture of a man, his mouth is blocked out by a cup of tea; his eyes give away that the cup hides an unwanted smile. He's tan, brunette, hair done in a tight pony tail. He's wearing the issued Konoha dark blue shirt with the Uzumaki crest on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I mentioned it to these men yesterday, that's the only thing I want back."

Tsunade places the picture into her pocket "You can have it back when this all goes to plan" She then calls over the other two men who have been busy discussing the potential demise of the mud wall.

"Alright everyone, Bri here is going to go over the gun again. Then, Kakashi I want you to be the one to test it. I don't care what you say you're going to be wearing all of that provided protection. Kinzoku has a reputation for specialized weapons; it probably will not be easy to control."

Bri is sitting on the ground looking up at her new friends _. Well at least_ _she's got that right_.

Tsunade pulls the weapon out from its black leather holster. The holster is extremely worn; Kinzoku wore the thing religiously for ten years. The attached leg band is a bit newer since Bri had to replace the original to fit her own leg. Inside the holster is a small pocket which once held the picture of her father. But all of these details are overshadowed by the cold metallic focus of the gathering.

The gun. It is quite an alien sight to be seen. The presence of something much smaller than and just as heavy as a sword is unnerving. Nothing so destructive and so compact could have ever lived in the imagination of the people examining it. It is something that no quiet old man living in the country side should have ever thought up.

Bri decides it's time to break this tension "The little piece the sticks out of the back is the hammer, think of it as the switch that turns it on." She paused to take a deep breath "Now, this is EXTREMELY important. You need to pull that trigger at the bottom almost immediately after pulling the hammer; If you don't you'll continue the feed the gun. After three seconds the gun is gonna go off whether you like it or not; and you are NOT going to like it." The men seem to understand, while Tsunade's face turns to one of curiosity.

Tsunade begins "I wasn't around for the initial explanation; you're going to have to elaborate on _feeding the gun_."

"Right, well the gun is made out of the same metal that all chakra weapons are made from, the main difference is that you can turn the gun on and off. What you want to do is focus your chakra into your hands..." Bri pauses for a moment to reflect on her first time shooting the thing "…also your feet, yeah, you're gonna wanna do that. When the hammer is pulled down the metal of the gun will pull in your chakra just like a chakra blade. The thing is, once your chakra is inside of the gun, it's going to be continually compressed and pulled in until there is no room left. Once the inside of the gun can't hold it anymore, which would be after three seconds, it will automatically send out all of the compressed chakra at one time."

Bri pauses, looking around to make sure everyone understands, she continues "You _don't_ want the gun to get to that point. This thing is incredibility efficient and powerful. If you wait even two seconds before you pull the trigger you'll release the chakra it has stored and that mud wall will be a thing of the past, you might even break your ankles. You have to pull the trigger right away."

Kakashi interjects "So basically this thing is going to push back on me, so I should brace myself?"

"Yes, and the bigger the chakra feed, the harder the push back. A small amount of chakra can be packed so densely that a faction of a second feed will equal your regular attack strength."

Genma speaks up "Isn't it possible for it to blow up in someone's hand? Seems a bit sketchy."

"It can't, that's the point of the three second automatic release." Bri pauses for a moment, a thought comes to mind "Unless, I suppose, someone had an unbelievable amount of chakra and shitty control; but even that person would have to be _trying_ to blow it up."

A picture of Naruto and his already missing arm flashes across the minds of all the listeners _. Maybe he better not try this one out._

As Kakashi shakes the image of the boy from his mind he turns and walks towards the protective gear. Tsunade follows and places the gun onto the table next to him. She turns around and calls to the three others "Let's get this over with alright?"

Kakashi puts on the helmet and the goggles, a small smile is hidden behind his mask. _The fact that Obito wore goggles every single day is honestly absurd._ The smile fades as he picks up the gun; a serious mood has suddenly taken over the entire training ground.

Tsunade picks up her pig and backs up to the tree to rejoin the other three. The two men are standing at full attention, while Bri seems to be shrinking into a tiny ball at the base of the tree; an attempt to protect herself. Her actions persuade Tsunade to take a spot behind the men, as if to use them as a shelter.

This is the first time Kakashi has held the weapon. The strong warnings are taking their toll; the usual steady, collected man notices a slight tremble in his hands. The metal is sapping the warmth from him like a corpse.

He begins by focusing his chakra in his hands as he holds the gun with both of them. Then some to his feet, but not too much, the talk of broken ankles made him cringe _. Just pull the hammer and the trigger right after, that's all, just right after._

Kakashi stops his rising anxiety by pulling down the hammer. Immediately, a strange feeling takes over both of his arms, it's a pull, an extremely strong pull, much stronger than any chakra blade he's ever held. It seems as though the pull wants to keep going until his last breath is siphoned out of his body. He suddenly remembers what is happening. _Shit, how long has it been? The trigger, the trigger._ He pulls the trigger and is instantly sent flying backward dropping the gun as he moves through the air. But it's the spectators that have the pleasure of witnessing the true power of the weapon.

What shoots out of the gun is the energy of Kakashi's chidori, but the core of the mass is larger than the ball Bri had curled herself into. The electric sphere moves through the air so quickly that it hits the mud wall in half a second. As suspected the wall instantly explodes sending chunks in every direction, the sphere fizzles out directly after the impact. The finale comes as Kakashi lands and smacks his head on the ground. The helmet cracks, saving his skull from a similar fate.

After a second, Kakashi slowly stands up and removes the broken helmet; as he surveys the rest of the damage he manages a quiet "holy shit..."

Tsunade, Genma and Yamato all turn to Bri in unison, mouths wide open. Bri peaks out from behind her knees "He waited too long" was all she had to say.

Tsunade is the first to overcome the shock "You understand what this means right? There is no way you're getting that weapon back. No one can know about this. I don't even know what to do with something like that, and the fact that you just willingly handed it over to us…" She pulls the photograph from earlier out of her pocket and tosses it at Bri, then begins to walk toward Kakashi, calling back to the group "Yamato untie her and take her back into town, there's no reason not to trust her. Iruka should be coming by soon to see her."

Yamato kneels down and begins to loosen the restraints "Good move handing the gun over, seems like the Hokage has taken a liking to you. You better not fuck this up."

"Listen Kitty, all I want is to be accepted. Maybe you don't understand what that's like, but I'd give away every last one of my secrets if it meant I could find a real home."

As much as Yamato tries to ignore it, every interaction with this girl makes him more uneasy. She knows too much, he feels exposed, like she can somehow read his mind.

A tight lipped smile appears on the man's face as he helps Bri to her feet "Well, if this meeting works out, I hope you stick around."


	5. Chapter 5

**The village is much larger than her own had been** , everything seems new and clean. The people up ahead are content as they buzz around the streets going about their normal morning routines.

Bri had been traveling around for the past year, never staying in one place for very long; she often skipped the larger villages opting for quieter areas where she wouldn't draw much attention. Konoha is a village where she would have never ventured to. It's a place where ninjas are held in high regard and each one is well known by the villagers. A kind of place she never really cared for, where murder is generously rewarded. However, it is that fact alone that makes Bri feel as though she could prove herself, become accepted, and maybe even fit in.

Bri looked down at her bare feet; actually, she never really did care for fitting in. After all, it was her uniqueness that first brought her friends into her life. As she looked around her she realized she really wasn't going to fit in at all, at least not yet.

As she passes, the villagers stop their conversations; children suspend their games to stare; the elders whisper to each other. Becoming the talk of one of the most revered towns in the country makes Bri feel tiny, she imagines herself being compressed until she disappears.

She turns to her companion "Uh Kitty-san, are we almost there? I feel like these people are gonna eat me alive."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, outsiders walking along with ninjas never means anything good. Plus you don't really look…ordinary."

"It's not my fault they wouldn't let me bathe! Is it really that bad? Oh man, I can't believe I'm about to meet my brother like this." Bri is trying to bush the dirt off of her skirt to no avail.

"They should have at least offered you a change of clothes" Yamato laughs "You look like one of the academy kids after recess, and what happened to your shoes?"

"I don't wear shoes, never owned a pair."

"Interesting, well, you can elaborate on that later, we're here."

Bri looks up at the flags hanging down over the entrance; the ramen shop really doesn't seem like the ideal place to have a heartfelt intense family moment, but it seems she has yet to earn enough trust to be truly alone with anyone.

"Don't worry the owners made sure you could have some privacy, and I'll give you guys your space" Yamato's voice actually sounds warm for once

Ignoring him, Bri takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she pushes through the flags. _When I open my eyes I'll wake up, this will be over_.

Reality crashes through as her eyes open to find an empty restaurant. No one is behind the counter; to her left a man is sitting at a table with a cup of tea. The scene is eerily familiar. His brown hair is tied up in a short pony tail; the cup hides his mouth from view. His eyes are wide and watery; this breaks Bri's déjà vu.

Bri finally exhales as she watches the man place the cup down with shaky hands. It feels like hours have passed, their eye contact is unyielding.

The man finally breaks the spell "Are you Bri?" his voice cracks, the blonde still cannot figure out how to move or breathe. He clears his throat "I'm Umino Iruka, um, please sit down. We have a lot to talk about, right?" a short awkwardly loud chuckle follows Iruka's words.

The awkward laugh makes Bri smile. Her own anxious laugh was one of Kinzoku's pet peeves, the one thing she never truly learned to suppress. Her smile sets her body free and she walks over to the table to sit across from Iruka. Bri looks down at the cup of tea, looking at his face is sure to make her more nervous.

"Oh, would you like a cup? You look pretty worn down, I could get you one." As he moves to get up he hits his own cup almost spilling it.

Bri pulls the picture out of her pocket "No thanks, it's just…" she places the photo on the table face down and slides it over to Iruka. He resettles as he looks at it, his face turns from one of warmth, to confusion and then to anguish. He blinks away tears as he looks to the cup and back to the photo again.

"You look just like him." her voice light and calming

"I can't believe this." Iruka places the photo down and pushes it away, stopping himself for ripping it up into a million pieces, a reflection of the feeling in his gut. "I really thought he was a good man." Again, his voice begins to crack.

Bri spins the photo around so she can look their father in the eyes as she begins "He really loved you Iruka, he loved your mom too, I'm sure. He did choose you guys after all." For the first time Bri realizes she hasn't even considered Iruka's mother.

"Does your mom know I'm here?" Bri's eyes widen, she didn't mean to say that out loud.

"She's dead. I've been alone for a while now."

Now that the two siblings are closer Iruka notices a scar across the bridge of Bri's nose. It's similar to his own, but only a fraction of the size. It's a perfectly straight line beginning under one tear duct and ending at the other. Iruka unconsciously reaches up to touch his own scar.

Bri takes a breath ready to continue, but she is interrupted by Iruka "How did you get that?" he says while tracing the line across his nose with his finger.

Bri touches her own nose and looks down, she's blushing. This is usually the part where she would make up some elaborate exciting story to explain the mark, but this is her family. He even has a similar scar of his own. She could explain herself and fire the question right back; maybe his story is just as embarrassing.

She looks back to her brother, her face cooling down as her incurable anxious laugh escapes "Uh, well, as lame as it sounds I've had a sleep walking problem my whole life. I actually got this when I sleep walked outside, fell down the front steps and wacked my face on a planter" again Bri's face is crimson as she looks for her brother's reaction.

Iruka's face is blank, prompting Bri to continue "Oh god, I promise I'm not all that lame! It happened when I was five. I'm a lot cooler now, I promise!" her attempt at a recovery comes to a halt when she notices a change in Iruka's face.

He's crying. His face holds the same blank expression, the tears seem to fall unnoticed by him.

Surely Bri's embarrassing secret could not have provoked this. She looks around the restaurant; she turns her head to face Yamato. He's standing near the entrance, oblivious to their conversation. Thoroughly confused, she turns back and whispers to her brother "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Iruka snaps back to reality, quickly brushing the tears off of his tanned cheeks. A slight smile appears on his face as he blushes "Well, there's just no doubt about it now I guess." He sits back in his chair "I got mine from sleep walking too." He pauses as his finger once again runs over the length of his scar "I've never told anyone this, but I actually tripped over the rug and fell through the glass coffee table in my living room." Iruka looks off into the distance as he continues "It must run in the family, huh?"

"What? No way!" Bri is smiling brightly, but the corners of her eyes are filling with tears. If this really was a dream she absolutely didn't want to wake up now.

She suddenly needed to know every little detail about the man; she wants to prove to herself over and over again that they truly are a family.

"Iruka, what's it like being a Konoha ninja? I'm sure you know that most people outside this village respect all of you guys."

Iruka laughs as he begins "Well, I hope this doesn't disappoint you, but I'm not the most highly regarded ninja around here. Actually, I teach the little kids at the academy, I get them ready to become Genin, make sure they have the skills to go on missions with their teams. I rarely go on missions myself." His smile fades as he looks down at the table "It's not too exciting, I guess, but it's rewarding."

Bri senses the shame in her brother's voice "I think that's honorable." She continues "The hardest job here must be sending those kids on their missions. You're the one who has to make the call to send them in or not. You judge their skill level and their character." She lifts up her brothers face by the chin, looking into his dark brown eyes "That's something to be proud of."

Just then, someone bursts through the hanging flags of the ramen shop. His voice is loud as he announces his presence like he was actually expected or invited "HOLY CRAP, I'M STRAVING! AYAME I THINK I NEE-"

As soon as his whole body is within the restaurant, Yamato has the teenager in a head lock; he's covering the boy's mouth with his other hand "Naruto! Why do you always have to be so obnoxious? You're interrupting an important meeting." The boy's wide blue eyes move from Yamato's face to other side of the room. As they land on the only two patrons, he breaks free from the hold.

"NO WAY! Iruka sensei is on a date?!" Without looking back he pushes Yamato away as he walks toward the table.

Bri is stunned; Naruto's unexpected entrance froze her in place. Iruka is flushing and he takes Bri's hand and quickly knocks it away from his chin. As Naruto reaches their table he continues "Of course you would take your date to Ichiraku! You have good taste!" Naruto's smile is huge. His presence is personification of the sun; warm and bright.

The absurdity of the moment sends Bri into a fit of laugher; Iruka's face is stern as ever as he turns from her to his former student "Naruto, are you serious? First of all I'm NOT on a date. Secondly, you really think I would take a date here? I'M A GROWN MAN!"

As her laughter subsides Bri reaches out to grab the young boy's arm "You're a funny kid. You're not THE Naruto are you?" She smiles brightly up at his blue eyes; he really doesn't seem to be a noble war hero.

"Uh. Well, I guess so! I've never met anyone else named Naruto" Bri is absolutely delighted; she never imagined the hero would be so friendly and upbeat.

"If you're not Iruka sensei's date then who are you?" Naruto is pulling up a chair, inviting himself to the table. Yamato marches over and grabs the boy's shoulder.

"Naruto, I said you're interrupting! You can't be here." The boy's face fills with disappointment. His presence has really lightened the mood in the room. Bri wants him to stay; she liked the way Naruto brought out everyone's personalities.

"No, I'd like him to join us, if that's okay?" Bri's words are met with one large smile and two scowls.

"Well if it's okay with Iruka…" Yamato looks over to Iruka, his face is prompting his friend to deny him, but the teacher really does enjoy his student's company and it calmed all of the anxiety that had been building up moments before.

Iruka's scowl turns to a small smile as he lets out a sigh "It's fine Yamato. I'm gonna have to tell everyone eventually."

Naruto's face lights up with anticipation and Iruka continues "Naruto, this is my sister Bri. She came a very long way to meet me."

Naruto is completely enthralled as Iruka tells him the story of the past couple of days. His excitement is contagious as he constantly looks back and forth from Bri to his teacher.

Bri is perfectly calm and content in this moment. The boy's posture and fascination reminds her of her two kohai from back home; actually the siblings are exactly Naruto's age. She shakes the memories of them from her mind. They are the only two people from her village who she knows are still alive, somewhere, hopefully very far away from here.


	6. Chapter 6

**As the day drags on** the owners of the shop eventually return and Yamato decides join everyone at the table. The serious meeting has turned into a session of laughs and banter. Iruka fills Bri in on the history of Konoha and the antics of his many students; Naruto chimes in mostly to poke fun at his two senseis while Yamato is watching the restaurant patrons come and go, occasionally sneaking a glance at Bri who seems to be hanging on every word of her brother's stories.

But, as much as Bri tries to push them away, the memories of her old life are relentlessly surfacing. They way that Naruto interrupts Iruka without a filter brings Bri's mind back to her friends. Back to the Joryoku twins, back to the last time she was _this_ happy, when Kinzoku-sensei was alive.

Bri had been very much a loner in her early years. Her mother was very poor, and after Bri had met Kinzoku it seemed her mother began to fade more and more into her drunken alternate self. Bri usually went home only to sleep, she spent most of her days training after school and helping her sensei with his weapons. Kinzoku did his best to make sure Bri never felt lonely. Although he was much older than any conventional sensei he mustered up the energy to train with her for a few hours every day. From the time she was seven until she was twelve Bri trained solely with Kinzoku.

At school Bri didn't have many friends. She was a non attentive student, most days she spent looking out the window thinking of ways she could finally take her sensei down in their after school sparring session. She never stayed around after class to play with the other children; she was far too excited to learn some new moves in her backyard battle ground, not that any of the kids wanted to play with her anyway.

Bri's mother spent her money on booze, not children's clothes, or toys, or school supplies. Because of this Bri would show up in her clothes from the day before, bare feet covered in dirt. She was the girl that always asked to "borrow" a piece of paper.

Her classmates bullied her; on the outside it seemed that Bri was completely unfazed. To a certain extent she was, she didn't care much for the things her classmates talked about. No one in her village was set on becoming a ninja and no one shared her interest in hand to hand combat; or so she thought.

The Joryoku twins were the newest addition to the great family of Bri's village. Before Bri was born the Joryoku clan was both feared and highly admired. They were the clan that had founded Bri's home, the Village of Pine. However, the clan had since lost its luster. The village had become more industrial and the mean temperaments passed down throughout the clan were seen as more of a nuisance and less of a noble and mysterious air. People avoided them on the street now; the family had grown accustomed to manipulating people by fear.

The clan possessed a strong Kekkei Genkai, but never had any need to use it for anything serious. The Joryokus were the epitome of school yard bully all grown up, desperately trying to remain on top and show off while the people around them just brushed them away.

The young twins, Atarashi and Bo, we're too little to have inherited the ways of their father. When Bri met them they were seven years old. The siblings had been following Bri home ever since they saw her practicing her taijitsu during recess.

The girl, Atarashi, was captivated by Bri's smooth transitions and high kicks. The little girl had always been very interested in her own families' violent past, always asking the elders of her clan to tell her stories of the days when they would have to use their pine ember jitsu to fight monsters and keep the citizens safe. Now the girls of her family are sent off to faraway places to marry weird rich guys and use pine ember mostly to boil a pot of water or roast a chicken. She didn't want to end up like them, she wanted to be like Bri "the girl with no shoes"; she wanted to be able to take care of herself.

Atarashi was very much the alpha twin, she is older than her brother by ten whole minutes and she never let him forget that. She spoke for Bo and lived for Bo. Her sharp attitude and outgoing personality was enough for two people anyway.

Bo was a child afraid of his own strength; he was out of place in a family ruled by angry obnoxious men. He spent his time in his sister's shadow, mostly trying and failing to make friends with the woodland animals who called the village home. So, of course he blindly followed his twin as she stalked Bri on her way home from school one afternoon.

For a week Atarashi and Bo followed Bri to Kinzoku's house and watched her train from the safety of a far off bush. They looked on as the blonde sparred with all of her strength, never looking down at the dirt on her clothes or stopping to catch her breath. She kept training far past the time that either of the twins could possibly last. Atarashi remained wide eyed and excited throughout each session, sometimes letting out a small yelp of anticipation. Bo even enjoyed their little secret, although it was mostly because Bri's hair was the color of his favorite flower and she looked so happy when she finally won a match.

It had been seven whole days when Bri finally asked her sensei if she could go scare the little kids out of the bush. The duo had a bet on which day the children would come out, and by this time both of their chosen days had passed.

The twins arrived at their hiding spot exactly when expected. As they settled down, they watched as the yellow haired girl pinned the old man to the ground, ending their first match. After this the blonde ran inside the house, prompting the twins to begin commentating on their private show. Atarashi spoke on and on about the ways she could see herself taking the girl down, Bo just starred back at his sister in his normal detached way.

That was until Bo's posture completely changed the aura in their little hide away. Atarashi abruptly became silent as Bo pointed wide eyed over her right shoulder, his face crimson red. His sister immediately collapsed into a tiny ball on the floor "IS IT A SPIDER?! BO?! HURRY GET IT OFF!"

Bri broke into a fit of maniacal laughter and she fell onto the dirt next to the little girl "Don't worry I'm much scarier than a spider." She says as she begins to wipe the tears from her eyes, she stands and helps the startled little kids to their feet.

"My name is Bri! I know you guys have been coming here every day, why don't you come out and meet Kinzoku-sensei? I know he looks old and scary, but he's actually pretty cool!" without waiting for a response she grabbed both of the twins by their hands and led them out into the sunlight.

Kinsoku waited cheerfully and the other end of the yard. His student was practically dragging the two terrified children behind her. Bri had a smile a mile wide across her dirty face as she marched over, Kinzoku couldn't help but chuckle; Bri had no concept of how strong she actually was.

"LOOK SENSEI! LOOK AT THEIR CLOTHES! THEY'RE THE JORYOKU TWINS!"

Kinzoku looked down as he shook the smile from his wrinkled face, he called to his student "Honey you're going to hurt them, slow down and let them speak for themselves."

Bri dropped the kids' hands from her grip and ran over to her sensei "They're from the strongest family in our village and I got em' all by myself!"

"Very good Bri, but I don't think they're here to hurt us. Isn't that right kids?" he motioned for the twins to come over to him.

The young siblings were still in a state of shock. Bo was frozen in place his wide eyes switched back and forth from Bri to the old man.

Atarashi looked down at her sandals, and looked back up to her captors with a smile. She sprung into motion; she took off her own shoes and pushed her statue of a brother gently to the ground, proceeding to take off his shoes as well.

She gathered up all the footwear and threw it to the other side of the yard. She turned back to her new friends "HI! I'm Atarashi and this is my LITTLE brother Bo!"

Bo looked a bit taken back as he slowly got back on his feet "…actually we're twins" he said is an almost completely inaudible voice.

Atarashi was surprised and delighted that her brother actually spoke, so she didn't bring up the ten minutes this time, she continued "Kinzoku-senesi will you PLEASE teach us to spar like Bri-san? She's my idol! I want to be able to be just like her! I'll throw away all of our shoes! Please?"

Bri had never blushed harder in her short life, she hid behind her hands and Kinzoku responded with a smile "Alright sweetheart. Bri, go gentle on her, alright? Little Bo and I are going to go inside and get some drinks." He winked at the little boy and grabbed his hand as he walked by the siblings; leaving the girls alone in the yard.

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and the best time of Bri's life. Over the five years between their first encounter and the death of their sensei the four truly became a family. The twins mastered their Kekkei Genkai, Bri mastered her weapons, and all three of the children grew up to be amazing ninjas. Although _technically_ they weren't official ninjas Kinzoku knew they could hold their own against any opponent they might encounter.

But children are easily molded, and tragedy is the perfect catalyst for change. The death of their sensei overwhelmed the already damaged trio and changed the very course of their lives.

But there was no time and no need to dwell on those sinful times. Bri is now here, in Konoha, with a man who shares her face, an eternal yellow light, and a sour puss. A new tragedy has initiated a new change, and this time she was going to do the right thing.

The restaurant is now extremely crowded and overheated. Yamato decides to interrupt Iruka's endless story "Excuse me, but it's getting pretty late. The Hokage should be back now, we should all go and find out what she wants us to do with your sister." He smiles at Bri and shifts his glance to Iruka. For a man that was completely wasted on denial and rage the night before, Iruka sure seems to have accepted the woman quite quickly.

The four agree to leave the shop and arrive at the Hokage's office as soon as she is getting there herself.

"Oh hello everyone!" Tsunade and Kakashi both look like they have come straight from a war zone. Their clothes are torn and singed, their faces looked to have aged ten years "As you can see, we're going to need to train much more with the gun." She smiles at Bri as she opens the door and has everyone take seats.

Tsunade continues, her voice is one of overtired mania "Well now, it seems to have gone well! Iruka, I know this must be extremely hard for you. I'm sorry for even coming to you and telling you in the way that I did. I just truly believe that Bri could be an asset to our village. But of course it's up to you, this is your home and we all want you to be as happy as possible." She settles down in her chair and looks up "Naruto. What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto's eyes widen as he starts to get up from his seat, Iruka stops him as he interrupts "Tsunade-sama, we invited Naruto, he came into the shop." Iruka takes a deep breath as Naruto sits back down "I would like him to hear this, I feel like this whole weird thing is a blessing in disguise. Naruto is one of my best students and he has really become like family to me. When I first met him I hated him for something he couldn't control, and I don't want to do the same thing to Bri. I'd really like her to stay."

He blushes and he looks over to his sister. She looks to be on the brink of explosion, her face is beat red and he smile is almost obnoxious.

She jumps to her feet and gives Iruka a big hug. All the love she had stored away and all her fond memories of her past seem to move from her heart into her brother's like a warm breeze.


	7. Chapter 7

**Later on, after speaking with the elders** for what always seemed like a life time, Tsunade had come to an official agreement with them. Bri was to be put on a strict schedule until further notice and it must be enforced right away.

The next morning Bri is told she is being brought into the Hokage's office for yet another meeting. Her past night had been spent at the hospital to check for any foreign illnesses. Since everything had checked out, she had been allowed to finally bathe and had also been given brand new clothes which even included a pair of the blue Konoha issued sandals. Receiving the shoes had been an emotional experience for Bri, although on the outside it seemed as though she was nothing more than grateful.

Her nurse, _well_ _maybe she was more than a nurse_ , had being waiting on her hand and foot all night. Bri felt there had to be a reason for the young girl's over the top care, it not like she was even sick at all. Finally, as the first rays of the day enter her hospital room window, Bri decides she has to know her.

"You've been such a great help. You know, you really didn't have to do all of this for me. You can even give these sandals to someone else, honestly, I don't need them." Bri was speaking to the back of a pink head of hair as the nurse moved slightly with the rhythm of her pen.

"Nonsense! Do you know how many diseases you can get from an open wound on your foot?" The girls turns on her heels, hands on her hips "I know they're ugly shoes but maybe we can go shopping one day!" that last part had slipped out, and the nurse's cheeks now matched her pink hair.

Bri's nose scrunched up as a lined smile graced her finally clean face "You wouldn't happen to be one of Iruka's old students would you?" It was quite obvious at this point that the nurse knew who Bri was.

The girl's tight posture loosens letting a small laugh escape "Actually, yes I am! My name is Sakura and I am really just so excited to meet you Bri-sama. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before, I was trying to be cool…" Sakura makes an uncomfortable face and looks out the window "There are not many women your age here; It's so exciting to have a new woman to look up to!" she turns back towards Bri this time beaming with light from both her smile and the sunrays behind her.

Again, Bri is tortured as Sakura's face is replaced by a flash of Atarashi's. "Oh honey, It's seems like in this village I'm going to be nothing more than a normal civilian." Bri loses her breath, maybe that wasn't the most intelligent thing to say, she continues "not that I was anything special before, you know."

Sakura walks over to the blonde and crosses her arms; she sits beside her on the bed "Just so you know, I am one Tsunade-sama's only disciples. That means I know everything that goes on around here. You're not an ordinary woman, and you're _not_ going to be a civilian."

Just then there's a quite knock on the door and another young girl sporting a high platinum pony tail enters, she looks about the same age as Sakura. She's holding a bouquet of flowers that she uses to cover half her face; her blue eyes are wide as she hesitates before walking over.

As she walks, she lowers the flowers revealing an almost too intense smile "Hello! I'm Ino! You are SOOO beautiful! I KNEW IT!" she places the flowers next to the bed and practically sits on Sakura's lap.

Sakura looks horrified for a moment before faking a smile at the violently flushing Bri "Um, I'm very sorry. I might have told one or two people about you already." Sakura cringes while Ino continues smiling behind her. Sakura delivers a subtle but effective hit to the side of Ino's thigh.

Ino reacts by hitting her back in a much more dramatic and much less painful manner "Sakura what the hell! You already have the HOKAGE as you're mentor! You can't just hog all of the cool older women for yourself!"

Now Bri is the one to cringe as she watches the petty argument go down, she decides to interrupt "Hey girls, who are you calling and older woman?! AND how do you know if I'm even worthy of being a mentor to KONOHA NINJA?!"

Bri flips her blonde hair over and places it into a high pony tail unconsciously mirroring Ino's. Bri's hair is much shorter and her pony tail ends up looking just like Iruka's, except for the fringe on both sides which reach the bottom of her face. Since her face is now free from dirt her scar is much more noticeable.

After she stops fussing with her hair she looks back over at the now silent girls. Their faces are identical, open mouths and wide eyes; Ino begins "WOW! You really are Iruka-sensei's sister! Iruka-sensei would be a hot girl, huh Sakura?"

Sakura returns Ino's comment with a disgusted face "Ino, seriously do you have a filter or…?"

That comment sends Bri into her classic hysterical fit of laughter, which in turn sends the girls into their own. In the mist of the commotion another person awkwardly enters the room. Bri tries to compose herself as she looks up to see the seemingly ever-present brunette.

Yamato waits in the doorway as their laughter slows to a halt "Excuse me girls, It's time for Bri-san to meet with the Hokage." The young girls turn their heads to look at the Anbu captain. He's as stiff as usual as he gives a cheap smile to the girls. His eyebrows arch in anticipation as he looks towards Bri who is now facing away from him, trying to put on her new shoes.

As she turns around she smoothes out the front of her new off white skirt. She wearing long black elastic shorts underneath it, her top is an off white kimono style blouse with maroon trim and matching color band around her torso. Sakura had done a great job finding something practical yet pretty.

"I'm sorry Kitty-san! I'm ready, let's go!" but Bri's words fall on deaf ears. The man is fixated on a strand of hair which has stuck to Bri lip. "What? Is there something on my face?!"

Yamato becomes flustered as he wakes himself up from his daydream "Oh, uh, you've got a little hair in your mouth…"

Bri instantly looks down at the floor wiping her mouth with the back of her hand; she looks back up while suppressing the fly-aways of her fringe "Okay! Thanks, I would love to look like an actual normal person today." She smiles so large that her eyes are almost forced shut "See you girls later, okay? Don't get into too much trouble!" Yamato moves over to let Bri exit the hospital room, and then he follows behind her giving the remaining girls an awkward wave as he leaves.

Ino and Sakura turn to each other wearing the same smirk "Kitty-san?!" they say in unison as another wave of laughter fills the empty room. Through her belly laugh Ino continues "Captain Yamato has never looked so hopeless!"

Sakura's laugh becomes painful as it grows "INO! Shut up they're going to hear you!"

Although she thought it impossible, Yamato is acting even more rigid than he normally is. The walk to the nearby Hokage's office is long and full of side glances toward the man who seems to be thinking one hundred thoughts at once.

When they make to their destination Tsunade's voice is like a welcomed splash of cold water "Good morning! Bri, it seems Sakura took great care of you last night. You look like a new woman!" the Hokage motions for the two to take their seats. Bri is surprised to see a couple of very old people and a woman a few years older than herself already in the room waiting for them.

"This is the Konoha Council. Koharu, Homura, and my assistant Shizune." Bri smiles at the council and receives only painful glares in return. She visibly sinks back into her chair as Tsunade continues "The elders here we're once very close with Kinzoku" the Hokage turns to the old couple and sends them a snarky look "…if you can believe that."

Shizune bites her bottom lip and looks down; the Hokage's hatred toward the village elders has always been secretly amusing to her. Bri notices the assistant's slight change in demeanor and begins to relax. That is until Koharu, the old woman, decides to speak up.

"Kinzoku was a good friend to both me and Homaru. We fought alongside him for many years, he was a smart man, but he was sensitive and weak. He left us when he was needed greatly by the village. In my opinion, that action is unforgivable."

Bri is taken back; she has never heard a bad word said about her sensei. A strong urge to defend her teacher almost over took her, but was stopped by an eye roll from the Hokage. The old woman notices the expression and shoots a dirty look right back before continuing "However, a disciple of his is bound to show promise. The council is willing to accept you mostly on the grounds in which you are a consolation prize in the seemingly endless mission given to us after Nawaki's death."

Bri confusion is plastered across her face as the woman keeps talking "Honestly, I can rest more easily in my grave knowing that this mission has come to some type of end."

The old man joins the conversation "Bri-san, I urge you to keep in mind this decision does not mean that we trust you. As of this moment you are to be placed on a strict schedule where you will be watched during all hours of the day. Since the war, the village has been a place of peace, so we have more than enough people to keep an eye on you."

Bri nods her head; her green eyes are those of a child being reprimanded. The Hokage is the one to explain the plans "In the early mornings you are to go the training ground with Kakashi and help him learn to use the gun. Yamato, you are to accompany them and stand by. When class starts at the academy Yamato will take you there and you are to be left alone to attend class as Iruka's assistant."

Tsunade looks up from the written plan the check Bri's reaction. As expected, she looks extremely uncomfortable in the presence of the old bags.

She continues "We want you to use your time at the academy to learn our village's values and fundamentals. Who knows, maybe you'll even earn our official ninja title." She winks at the elders who become visibly enraged as she turns back to Bri "Other than that you're free to do as you please, but you cannot leave the village, and you cannot roam around on your own. Also, you're not to be in possession of anything which could be used as a weapon."

Bri lets out the breath she felt she had been holding since she had walked through the door "That's great, really. I don't know how to thank you for everything you have done."

Tsunade smiles "Oh, I almost forgot. You'll be living in the village housing building, in the apartment right next door to Naruto. Good luck with that!" Bri's face lights up as Yamato cringes. The reaction makes the Hokage laugh "Umino Bri, I know you have inherited Kinzoku's heart, I expect great things from you." Her face suddenly turns dark "I have also risked my reputation for you. Do not let this village down."

As Bri and Yamato exit the intense atmosphere of the building and break through into the bright spring day, the woman feels ten pounds lighter. The worst was over; she had been given a place to become comfortable and to grow. The smell of the blooming trees fills her with such intense emotion she has to stop herself from singing and dancing down the road to the training ground where Kakashi is waiting.

Yamato had finally freed himself for the intrusive thoughts which had plagued him that morning. Bri's pathetic attempt to hide her smile was contagious as he broke the silence "So, I've never seen Kakashi-senpai have so much trouble with a weapon before. I can't say I'm not excited to see him finally be shown up." He nudges Bri with his elbow and put his hands in his pockets.

Bri laughs and looks away, a guy her own age actually acknowledging her was something she never had really experienced. The Captain continues "Since Kakashi's lost his sharingan, he going to have to learn this the hard way. I hope he doesn't get too frustrated. I heard he was out here all night trying to figure it out."

When they arrive Kakashi is already dressed and ready at the set up. The training ground is a complete mess, trees have fallen over, chunks of rock litter the ground and almost everything around the site has visible burn marks, including Kakashi himself.

Bri has to stop walking in order to hold in her laugh, while Yamato lets his own escape at full force.

Kakashi's body language seems capable of murder "You're late. I want to watch Bri-san do this. I honestly think the thing is broken." The worn out man's voice is horse and monotone.

After a smile and a quick bow Bri makes her way over to the thoroughly un-amused man "Please stand back, I suppose there's no guarantee it's not broken." She holds out her hand waiting to receive her deadly weapon.

As soon as she feels the weight of the metal in her hands all of her lost confidence finds its way back to her. Her face becomes hard and her attitude turns serious as she expertly places herself in front of the target. She begins by placing a fixed amount of chakra in her hands and her feet and in half an instant the moment was over. She places the gun down and turns toward the men "Nope! It's isn't broken, I assure you it's safe to proceed."

The men glace at each other with squinted eyes, to them it seemed that absolutely nothing had just happened. Bri cannot maintain her composure; she had to admit that showing off her skill was one of her semi-guilty pleasures. She points at the mud wall target with a huge grin on her face "Check it out!" she says.

The men have to take a few steps towards the target to see it. There's a small hole in the mud wall about the size of a marble, a stream of light is pouring through the hole illuminating the dust suspended in front of it. The tiny void is placed exactly in the middle of the target, a perfect bull's eye.

Yamato places one hand on his old friend's shoulder "Huh, how do you like that Senpai? It was just you all along." Kakashi was cranky and his usual calm demeanor was wearing thin, he shoots Yamato a cold side eye as he brushes him off.

The look in Kakashi's eye give Bri a chill, this guy is not cute when he's angry, she stutters as she begins "U-Um, I think if you try and picture how much chakra you want to send out first, it can help you with your control. My guess is that you're focusing too much on the release that you don't realize how much chakra you're letting the gun take in. You have to resist the pull."

Bri hands the gun back over to Kakashi "Here, let's try this. All you have to do is focus a set amount of chakra into your hands. It's going to be instantaneous, but as soon as you feel that chakra run out, resist and try and pull your chakra back in."

He lets out a huff and looks down at the gun and his hands trying to get a clear picture of the orders. Bri continues "I will pull the hammer and trigger for you. So only worry about your control, okay?" she gives Kakashi an encouraging look that somehow doesn't feel patronizing.

Kakashi gets into position focusing his chakra in his palms and aiming the gun at the target. He almost loses his concentration as the blonde positions herself behind him and places her own hands over his. She so close to him that he can feel her heart beating calmly on his back, it's the only way she can reach to the end of his much longer arms.

Yamato looks down, he's often felt envy toward his senpai but this was a bit too much.

She has to work fast, the position is more awkward than she imagined "Okay at the count of three…one…two…three"

Kakashi could have sworn he was already pulling his chakra back before she finishes the word and pulls the trigger; even so he witnesses an average size Chidori leave the gun and collide with the wall. Although it was way off target, it was the first time he actually hit the wall without destroying it completely.

Kakashi nods in approval and turns around to find Yamato helping the blonde back onto her feet. He had been far too focused to notice that the moment the gun went off, his shoulder has jerked backwards hitting Bri square in the nose.

Kakashi cringes behind his mask quickly placing the weapon down "Oh no, I'm so sorry I didn't even noti-…"

"It's my fault." Bri interrupts as she looks up at Kakashi, pinching her nose to try and stop the bleeding. Her voice is nasally "I've never done that with someone taller than me, that wasn't really the smartest idea…" the men's' overly concerned faces force her to look back down at the ground "Uh…does anyone have a tissue?"

She prays that she doesn't embarrass herself this much at the academy.


	8. Chapter 8

**"** **Hey, are you sure you're okay?** We could stop by and see Sakura; she'll fix you up real quick." Yamato has stopped their progression towards the academy and places a hand on Bri's shoulder.

The blonde breaks away from his direct gaze, removing the tissue she had absent-mindedly been holding to her nose. The bleeding had stopped a while ago but she had been too busy mulling over her mistake to notice.

"I'm fine Kitty-san, I'm sorry… I'm just nervous for this class. Do you know what I'm actually supposed to be doing in there?" She points at the academy building up ahead; the children are all playing in the front yard waiting for the doors to open. She continues "I've never been to a school like that."

Yamato sighs and turns towards the building in question "Well, I can't really tell you. I didn't go to a school like that either."

Bri looks at the back of the man's head in confusion "But, I thought all Leaf Shinobi had to graduate from the academy…"

Yamato turns back to face her "It's different for Anbu guys" Bri can sense pain in his dark brown eyes, which then travels into her gut as he continues "Well, at least it was. The place I was sent to doesn't exist anymore." The man's face lights up. He's covering up bad memories with a smile; an action Bri was very familiar with. "Just be thankful you're working here and not there" He says.

Iruka has appeared in the front yard of the academy, capturing the attention of the duo. They watch in amusement as the teacher is pushed against the side of the doorway; the children show no mercy as they squeeze themselves through the entrance all at once.

Iruka is screaming at them, his face is red, his arms are flailing, but no one is listening. He's stuck there pinned against the doorway. Bri and Yamato look at each other; Bri is biting her lip trying not to crack a smile.

Yamato has to close his eyes in order to keep his composure; he takes a deep breath as he walks away from the academy. With a smile he calls back towards the stagnant blonde "What are you doing Umino? It looks like that guy needs some help!"

Bri scratches her head as she looks back to her distressed sibling. She begins a slow jog to the academy entrance, however she can't help but break into a fit of laughter, as she arrives on the scene laughing and out of breathe the remaining students stop in their tracks.

When she finally regains her composure she looks down to find herself surrounded by five year olds. They're all sporting scrunched up noses and big serious eyes. Bri gives them all a clearly uncomfortable smile and then her eyes immediately search for Iruka.

He has finally freed himself from the chaos and meets his sister's painfully awkward smile with an equally painful scowl. His gaze is redirected to the children as he speaks "GET INSIDE! Tell everyone that they better settle down BEFORE I get in there." The kids scurry inside the building without a word, leaving Iruka and Bri alone outside.

"I'm glad you found that amusing because tomorrow you're going to be the one getting trampled." When he sees how guilty Bri looks the darkness leaves his face and he laughs "Jeeze, Don't give me that look. I'm just kidding. Listen don't be afraid to take charge of these kids. Graduation is coming up; a lot of them are extremely strong. That means they need an extremely strong teacher."

Bri stands up taller, a soft smile appears on her face "I'm ready to kick some little kid ass!"

Iruka chuckles "Well actually, today we're just gonna watch them kick each other's asses. They have to spar."

"Aww, that's adorable! Tiny little fists and feets!" She makes little punching motions as she speaks.

Iruka gives her a side eye and a smirk as they enter the building "Oh yeah real tiny…super adorable" he says encouraging his younger sister's fantasy.

Bri has never been fond of little kids; she feels that they ask too many questions, make too many messes, and their perpetual screaming really gets to her. She isn't motherly, at least that what she thinks. Although, her idea of a mother is so idealized it might make a normal person vomit.

When she entered the classroom all of her fears are realized at once. It is incredibly loud, papers are flying in all directions and almost every child asks the same question in unison "IRUKA-SENSEIIII IS THAT YOUR GIRLFRIEND?!"

Bri cringes and places a hand on her ear that is facing the little ones. She has always had unusually sensitive ears which was why she really _really_ hated the screaming.

However, no relief is found as Iruka returns their question with a possibly even louder scream "EVERYONE BE QUIET! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU ALL EAT THIS MORNING? CALM DOWN!"

He then picks up and slams down the textbook he has on his desk. The noise echoes throughout the room instantly silencing the audience.

The teacher rubs his temples and sits down " _Thank you_ ," he begins, as he gestures towards the blonde woman. "This is Bri-sensei. She's my younger sister NOT my girlfriend." He pauses for a moment to open his desk drawer, and then continues "Honestly, WHY would I bring my girlfriend here? That just makes no…" he trails off as he looks through his papers for the sparring score cards.

The kids see this as an opening to lend their ever intriguing input;

"Bri-sensei is pretty!" yells one girl.

"I bet she can beat you up Iruka-Sensei!" says another.

"Does this mean we're gonna get double homework?" this time it's a boy.

Bri flushes pink and looks down at the ground; she can feel herself becoming rigid. _A school of ninja children? Where they just spar and play with kunai all day long!_ How was she going to teach the new generation of Konoha ninja? How was this even allowed? She had no idea what she was doing.

Her downward spiral of thoughts is broken when Iruka speaks up "No double homework, but you are going to have to work double hard. Bri-sensei is my second pair of eyes. We're all sparring today, so no funny business because you _will_ get caught."

After Iruka reiterates the rules and expectations the entire class heads outside. Iruka notices how awkward the blonde is acting compared to the day before "Bri, you look a bit freaked out. Don't let these kids get to you. No matter what they say or do to you, _they're idiots_ just don't think about it." He lets out a small laugh "You're gonna like this part, trust me."

The kids instinctively form a large circle for the two chosen ones to spar inside of. Iruka has decided to start with a rather cute kid with black hair down to his shoulders and a little girl with a scarf tied around her head. They start off by doing the same hand sign which Bri had learned from her own sensei, signaling the beginning of the match.

Bri is extremely pleased to watch the girl subtly out-shine her opponent. The little girl is extremely focused and her body stays positioned to counter every attack. The boy is keeping up but he seems unenthusiastic, his moves are a bit too habitual, he seems afraid to get creative. And this is his downfall because as he expects and prepares for an uppercut, the girl suddenly changes her stance and lands a solid punch directly to his nose.

Blood shoots from his nose and begins raining down on the girls covered head as she exclaims "That's because I'm sick of you taking it easy on me Reiji-kun! I'm just as good as you!"

Iruka sends the young girl a look of disapproval "Nishi. Keep your personal vendettas out of this please. Look at what you did; Reiji is going to have two black eyes in a few minutes."

The black haired boy tries to lift his head only to have it fall back pathetically to the dirt. Bri's awkwardness dissipates as she instinctively walks over to the small boy and picks him up "It's okay bud, I'll take you inside and get you fixed up." She looks to her brother who gives her a nod and then she takes the half conscious boy away from the commotion.

As she sets the boy down on a bench inside she can already see the fluid concentrating under his eyes. She wipes the blood from his face and leaves to get some ice and water. She's only gone for a minute, but when she returns the boy's face is unrecognizable. It's double the size and his dark eyes rest above two pools of intense purple, his broken nose parting the seas.

Bri closes her eyes and takes a deep breath; she tries not to let the child sense her uneasiness as she places the ice onto his face and helps him lie down. The child lets out a defeated "thank you" before he falls asleep.

In the midst of the silence the blonde can find nothing more to distract herself. Relentless flashes of her old friends invade her head. The last time she saw an injury like this, she was with them. A wave of guilt hits Bri so hard than she has to sit down and hide her face between her knees.

* * *

It had been a horrible few weeks leading up to the death of their sensei. The Joryoku twin's father was on a tirade.

Joryoku Daiki was a freighting man to say the least. He donned the same frame of all his previous clansmen. He towered over everyone in the village, and took up enough space for two normal sized men. He wasn't a nice guy either; everywhere he went he cast a cloud of uncertainty.

Anything had the potential to set him off; but that week Daiki was under considerable stress. He had been trying for some time now to find a worthy husband for his daughter. Atarashi was only twelve at the time; but their family customs were set in stone. They were a family of tradition and repetition and that wasn't about to change under Daiki's reign.

However, the world around them was maturing, leaving the family behind. The egomaniacal father couldn't find an honorable, well known family who would let their heir marry a girl so young; and that pissed him off.

Realistically, he couldn't explode on the villagers. He knew they we're just waiting for a reason to have him locked up. So he turned to his family. No one could tell him how to treat the people that he created; that was his mindset. That same mindset also dictated that his wife must take what she was given, because without him, she would be nothing.

So one freezing winter night, he let his frustration out. He decided the howling wind and the waist deep snow would be enough to conceal his rampage. He watched his daughter place the last piece of firewood into the fireplace and light it with her newly mastered Kekkei Genkai; and the fire in his head grew to match the one in front of him.

"THIS IS WHY NO ONE WANTS YOU ATARASHI! You've already wasted all of our wood!" The sudden booming voice made Atarashi who was crouching next to the fire lose her balance; it also startled her mother who in turn dropped the plate she was washing. Fear overtook the young mother as she looked down at the broken pieces and back towards her looming husband.

As expected he had now refocused he rage onto her "SORA! You've passed your carelessness onto our daughter. You're both so fucking helpless! Look at you two! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN A HOME?!" The father stood up and swiftly flipped over the coffee table, sending more useless objects to break and litter the floor.

After glancing at the mess Daiki took a few steps towards his wife. She immediately swooped down to the floor in order to pick up the broken pieces of porcelain. From her low position she shot a look over to her paralyzed daughter. _Run._

But the little girl couldn't run. She couldn't even breathe. Only her eyes moved as she noticed her twin brother appear in the dark doorway to the living room. A soft orange glow just barely lit up the young boy's face. Atarashi became transfixed on the warmth of that light; but only for a moment; because the next moment entered with another loud noise a deafening scream.

The children were ripped out of their daydreams; suddenly they could move again but they weren't fast enough. The loud sounds had been the noise of their mother being picked up and thrown into the kitchen cabinets. Their father was now on Sora, and he had enough time to deliver one devastating blow to her exceptionally beautiful face.

But, as soon as his fist connected Daiki felt the intolerable pain of the skin of his neck beginning to burn away. His son was latched onto him. Bo had him in a head lock; his Pine Ember jitsu was activated. The young boy's arms were glowing with a deep orange and the heat from them was melting his father's skin right off. This was Pine Ember, this was the sacred Kekkei Genkai the twins had acquired from their father, and it was going to be that same man's demise.

Atarashi could do nothing but scream and she ran to hold her mother. Through her tears she watched as her father's arms lit up a fiery crimson hue, moving to grab her brother's, which she knew couldn't be damaged in that state. However, her father didn't even have the time to retaliate; he quickly passed out from the pain.

Bo stood up letting his father's limp body tumble to the ground. Sora managed to open one of her badly damaged eyes. Bo watched as his mother's eye looked to his father and then up to his face. She managed to let out a feeble "Bo-kun…" before she broke down crying. Atarashi pulled her mother closer and Bo looked down at his hands, he did not like this feeling. He didn't know what to call it.

Just then the siblings heard a muffled voice coming from outside. A snowball hit the window and exploded, sending the powder flying through the night sky. The twins watched the snow move with the wind, and were startled when a smiling face appeared pressed against the window.

They we're surprised yet again when that smiling face turned panicked and suddenly two new people were standing in their broken home throwing their small stacks of extra firewood on the floor, professionally shouting orders to each other.

At the time Bri was 17 years old, a grown woman who was raised to be level headed and tactical in every situation, and she was. It was evident it the way her and Kinzoku worked silently to patch up the unconscious man.

As they worked the children slowly moved closer to their mother. They we're terrified. The two visitors made no attempt to speak to them; they didn't even glance in their direction until they were sure the burns had been treated as best they could.

Kinzoku-sensei's hidden strength was displayed as he dragged the gigantic man to the other room, leaving Bri behind.

When the blonde turned to her friends she took in an image which is still burned in to her mind to this day. Two young kids, kids she only knew as strong and light hearted were now vulnerable and lost. They were both shaking, gripping their mother. Tears were rolling down their faces, but they were silent.

For an instant Bri's whole world seemed gray, but the rich purple of Sora's battered face brought her back to reality. That wasn't supposed to happen to them. Bri wanted to desperately to take the woman's place. She already felt the pain of ever member of the house filling her body. _Why were parents so awful at taking care of their children? Why were good kids forced to be born into bad places? How can anyone ever turn out kind in a world like this one?_

That was when she promised the twins she would be there. She would watch out for them. She would follow them into the dark.

But now, even she had failed them, and as she sat next to the boy with eye's as dark as Sora's that night, she cried. She cried until there were no tears left. It was only at that point that she could pull herself back together and rejoin the crowd of rowdy students outside.

As she opened the door and entered the bright white sunlight she tried to remind herself, _not everyone can be saved_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Bri rejoins the class just as another match is ending.** The children are cheering for their classmate, this time a little yellow haired girl. The child had successfully hog tied her opponent and was laughing hysterically as she untied the knots.

Right now, that tiny blonde girl is pure; she's unburdened, and Bri realizes that the fragile innocence of the children is what really made her uneasy around them.

"How's he doing? He looks like crap doesn't he?" Iruka asks unexpectedly close to Bri's ear.

Bri finally has a concrete reason to bring herself back down to earth "Oh yeah, he won't be waking up for a while. Poor kid has two plums for eyeballs." She searches the crowd for the girl with the scarf, when she finds her she can tell the girl is worried.

"She's a good kid," Iruka says as he nods toward the girl in question "she just got a little too excited. What did I tell you? These kids are way stronger than you would think."

Bri smiles at Iruka "Kids have always been the strongest people I've ever known" she says.

The teachers notice that the laugher has stopped; the field has become eerily quiet. They look to the class and are met with about twenty tiny anticipating stares. "What the hell-" Iruka begins before he is interrupted

"SENSEI FIGHT! SENSEI FIGHT! SENSEI FIGHT!" All of the children are laughing and chanting. The tension makes both Bri and Iruka crack a smile.

Iruka looks towards Bri and back to his class, his face now serious "HEY! We are NOT fighting here, we're _sparring_. You never ever fight your comrades. Remember that. So, since me and Bri-sensei are comrades we cannot and will not fight each other. Now, let's get back to the schedule, you all have to go today-"

Again Iruka is interrupted, but this time by a man shouting from far away "Yo! Iruka-sensei, be a man will yah? Give these kids something to write home about!" It's Gemna, one of Iruka's friends that Bri had met her first day in town. He's standing on the other side of the fenced in yard, and of course; he's with Yamato.

"You afraid Bri-sensei is gonna kick your ass?" Genma continues as Yamato tries half heartedly to pull him from the fence.

The children are in an uproar, they have begun chanting again and this time Genma joins in as he expertly escapes Yamato's grasp and hops the barrier with ease.

As Bri looks to the rowdy crowd and back towards the approaching man she can't manage to hold her smile back. She hasn't sparred in ages, and she has to admit she is curious about her brother's ability.

Genma arrives just in time to stop Iruka from giving an excuse "Alright let's see it," he grabs Iruka's shoulders and forcefully places him in position within the ring of children, then he grabs the score cards and other items from the nervous teacher's hands and steps back "Bri-sensei, go easy on the kid, he's looking a little pale."

He grabs Bri's hand and gently walks her into the makeshift arena.

The wall of small children surrounding her is unnerving; not to mention she was quite literally the center of attention. Bri closes her eyes tightly and takes a deep breath before extending her hand to her brother; an invitation for him to consent to their match.

"This is ridiculous, listen you guys really don't have to do this right now," Yamato has hopped the fence as well, and is making his way over, he continues "Genma, what are you twelve? They have shit to do."

"Holy shit Yam, lighten up for once. Are you saying you aren't curious about this? Come on. I bet this doesn't even last five minutes." Genma replies.

Iruka rolls his eyes at his friends and reaches forward to complete the hand sign with his sister "Let's get this over with." He mutters.

The hand sign instantly changes Bri's mood. Nothing else matters in this moment, it's the escape she desperately needed today.

The match starts out much too textbook for her liking. She easily blocks a few attacks while she takes in her brother's stance and direction. After they each manage a couple of unimpressive strikes, she decides that Iruka is taking it easy on her; she smiles "Lesson number one! Never underestimate your opponent!" she says going in for a straight shot to the face. It's easily blocked. However, she uses her brother's doge to her advantage and hops up onto his shoulder. Now she's up in the air. Before Iruka can recover Bri is behind him and Iruka's own kunai is being lightly pressed against his throat.

The kids are amazed, they had all sparred against their teacher in the past and never once have they seen him like this. Well, never once have they seen him spar against someone his own size. They slowly begin to clap; to Bri's surprise not one child takes this moment to mock their sensei.

But one _man_ does, "Come on Iruka, LESSON NUMBER ONE! Maybe if you had more combat experience you'd actually practice what yo-" his sentence is cut short because suddenly something hits his legs from behind and he's laid out on the ground, gripping the back of his head.

"What the fuck was that for?!" he says looking up at the triumphant blonde.

"Lesson number two! Never let down your guard," she says laughing as she helps Genma back to his feet "I'm sorry it was just too easy."

"That was pretty impressive; I think I might have to take you out." Bri couldn't tell if the man was trying to flirt or threatening to kill her. She shoots a confused look over to Yamato, who looks rather angry for no apparent reason.

"WOW alright, on that note let's please get the fuck out of here, nice job Bri-sensei" says Yamato. He grabs Genma by his flak jacket and begins to pull him away for the class.

"Let's all go out for drinks later!" Bri calls after them, but she receives no response "KITTTYYYYYY-SANNNNNN!"

"OKAY, FINE, WHATEVER! Just please stop calling me that!" he calls back.

She smiles to herself and turns back to the children "I hope you all learned something today. And I hope it wasn't the F-word."

Bri cringes and looks towards her brother, he smiles and places a hand on her shoulder before addressing the class "I guess today's theme is to never underestimate women. Isn't that right Nishi?" the little girl looks up from her blood covered scarf she had been examining and smiles.

He continues "This was a great example of a real mission; you're never going to know your opponent's strength until you engage. Always expect that they are stronger than you. As you can see, even I have a lot of learning to do."

Bri is in awe. Iruka is just like Kinzoku was, confident, caring and humble. She can tell the children hold him in high regard. It makes her proud to be a sister and a comrade, and that was something she hasn't felt in quite some time.

However, that feeling just adds more on to the millions of mixed emotions she had experienced since this morning, by the end of the day she was practically begging for a barstool and a strong drink.

As Bri says goodbye to Iruka in front of her new apartment she can already feel the long day begin to melt away, but it was a slow melt which was seriously lacking some sake. She climbs the stairs and realizes this moment is the first moment she has been alone in what felt like forever.

Or is she? She is sure she can hear someone breathing, but she doesn't see anyone around. Ultimately, she decides it must just be another renter and goes to place her key into the door.

"Hello Bri-san." Bri jumps and her keys fall to the floor

She turns around but still can find a soul "Um…holy shit, yes? Hello?"

Bri watches as an abnormally pale teenager climbs out of her apartment window "Uh, excuse me, what the hell?" she asks the mystery boy.

"I apologize, I was told to stand watch here and I really had to go to the bathroom." He says as he pulls the last of his body out of the house "Oh, This is where I tell you that my name is Sai. Hello, my name is Sai."

Not really knowing how to react Bri just smiles awkwardly "Nice to meet you Sai, uh, I'm just going to shower and then I'm going to go out with Iruka and his friends. Is that okay?"

He completely ignores her question "Naruto said you we're pretty, but you're just another ugly kunoichi. I feel disappointed." The kid hasn't made one facial expression yet. He's like a robot. The combination of that and the words that just came out of his mouth send Bri into a fit of laughter.

"Excuse me, why are you laughing? I'd like to write it down." Sai says as he literally pulls out a note pad from his bag.

"Honey, are you high? What the hell is going on?" Bri is trying again to get her keys into the door; she's amused, but at the same time really wants to get away from him.

"I just told yo-" the boy is cut short when the door to the neighboring apartment opens and Naruto appears from behind it.

"Sai! I really can't listen to you talk anymore, you're making me sick!" Naruto walks over and grabs Sai by the arm "Captain Yamato told me that _I_ was supposed to keep watch over Bri-san from next door. STOP TRYING TO STEAL MY S-RANK MISSION YOU ASSHOLE!"

"No one relayed that message to me…" as the boys continue to argue Bri slips inside her apartment, finally one step closer to her much needed drink.

Later on in the evening she hears a knock on her door. It's her brother, finally. She could still hear the two boys arguing with each other in the neighboring apartment, and it was driving her insane.

On their walk to the bar they are joined by Genma, Yamato, and Kakashi.

"So, do you guys know a kid named Sai, really pale, really…weird?" Bri asks.

The guys all laugh but only Yamato answers "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, he wasn't supposed to be there. He's a good kid he's just a bit…uh…"

"He's from The Foundation, he grew up differently than most people here." Kakashi adds.

"Oh really? What exactly is The Foundation? That sounds pretty hardcore." Bri says as she walks through the door to the pub.

"It's where I went to school," Yamato answers.

Yamato's solemn tone makes Bri want to change the subject "Oh I see…well, let's get a drink or ten shall we?"

So they do, and as the night rolls on the crew begins to lighten up. Genma is on a personal mission, he's spoken to almost every single woman in the place, except for one. At the very end of the bar there's an older lady and she's bombed. Bri observes as the woman begins giggling to herself watching Genma get denied over and over again. The woman knew he had no more options, she knew he was coming for her next.

Bri smiles and looks up at the ceiling; _Hey Mom, you seeing this right now?_ She thinks herself. She can't help but feel like her mother is here with her; hell, she would kill to be here right now. For a moment she is nostalgic for her, but that feeling swiftly disappears when Genma skips right over the old plastered woman and makes his way back to Bri and his friends.

"Alright, Listen guys, I have taken a survey and one hundred percent of the people here want Kakashi to stop complaining about becoming the next Hokage," Genma slurs as he grabs Kakashi by the shoulders "seriously, you're killing my high."

"Are you sure that's my fault, or is it the fact that one hundred percent of the girls here won't go home with you?" Kakashi replies causing Iruka and Yamato laugh uncontrollably.

"Seriously Genma, you're a fucking shinobi for crying out loud. You could afford to be a bit more stealthy." Yamato says while trying to regain his composure.

"Alright, Yam I've never even seen you with a woman so you really can't talk my friend; but I'm glad to see you finally decided to lighten the fuck up," he moves to order another round of drinks "Bri you're awful quite, what wrong? Is Iruka due for another ass beating?"

Kakashi looks expectantly to Bri and then back to Iruka "Ass beating huh?" he says.

Iruka is beginning to slump over "I underestimated her, and also I haven't sparred with anyone is ages. Fuck you, Genma."

Bri sits up and addresses the group "We can have a rematch! Or maybe I'll just beat Genma's ass, he's really asking for it don't you think?"

Iruka and Kakashi look at each other and nod in agreement. Genma slams his cup down on the bar and turns to face her "Alright, let's do it babe."

Yamato quickly stands up in protest "NO! No way, this is not happening. It's almost two in the morning, I'm taking Bri home."

"Whoaaa, you hear that Iruka? All these years and the first girl Yam decides to take home is your little sister," says Genma.

Bri gets up and places her money on the bar "Very funny Genma. This has been the longest day of my life; Kitty's right I need to sleep."

Yamato's intense blush is hidden by the dim lights of the bar; his friends are all staring at him. He moves to hold to door open for Bri, and as they exit a chorus rings out behind them "GOODNIGHT KITTY-SANNNN!"

Yamato shoots the boys his signature intimidating look and closes the door behind him.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry it just slipped out, I didn't mean to call you that in front of them," says Bri.

Yamato looks at Bri and playfully rolls his eyes "What? It's fine, I have a feeling they'll all forget about it by morning," he says smiling.

The short walk to Bri's apartment is filled with laughs and whole hearted smiles. Bri finds it alluring that a man who's usually so stern seems to drop his act around her. She is so captivated in fact; that she doesn't even notice Yamato has walked her all the way up the stairs and right to her front door.

"Oh well, I guess this day is finally going to end," Bri says as she looks through her pockets for her keys, which she finds, and drops, yet again.

Yamato bends down to pick them up "Thanks a lot; I really had a good time," he says as he hands the keys back over.

Their eyes lock for maybe a second too long forcing Bri to look away "See you tomorrow?" she asks as she unlocks her door.

Before Yamato can answer, the door to the next apartment over opens and Naruto bolts out. He forcefully grabs Yamato by the shoulders "Captain Yamato PLEASE tell Sai that this is my mission! He won't go home! He keeps drawing pictures of me every time I fall asleep! It's so creepy, he's such a freak! PLEASE!"

Yamato looks over to Bri and smirks, when he turns back to Naruto his face is terrifyingly dark which forces Naruto to let go of him a take a few steps back "And how exactly are you completing your mission if you keep falling asleep," Yamato growls.

Naruto backs up further; Bri is still standing next to her open door desperately trying not to laugh.

"FINE Captain Yamato; don't help me out, but I'm not gonna forget this!" Naruto screams as he runs back into his apartment.

Sai pokes his pale face out of Naruto's open window "My book says that a good way to show affection is to make sure a person feels safe. So, Captain Yamato, would that mean you're here in the middle of the night because you want to show Bri-san that you have a strong fondness for her?"

Yamato's face turns a million shades of red and Bri can no longer hold in her laughter; she almost falls to the floor as she cracks up. Yamato can't help but laugh as well, in the midst of the ridiculousness he somehow felt at home.


	10. Chapter 10

**A couple of weeks have passed.** Bri has been sticking to her schedule since day one; she's found an unexpected comfort in always knowing what's next, and what's next at this moment is the graduation at the academy.

The older children became special to Bri over the last few weeks. The twelve year olds are not anything like the normal civilian children she grew up with, they're unified, they're devoted and they're downright intimidating. Spending time at the academy only cemented the ideas she already had about the Konoha ninja, they are born and bred to be the best, and their reputation is well deserved.

As Bri begins to set up the chairs in the auditorium she notices a row of photographs on the far wall. They're all class pictures, every year is accounted for. She begins to examine them all, infatuated with the many generations of excellence. She finds the year she would have been twelve and takes notice of the children that may have been her friends. If she had lived this life, what would she have been like now? As she continues down the line she finds Iruka and to her surprise he looks indifferent and empty, she takes a step back placing her hands into her pockets.

"That was the year dad died," Iruka's voice suddenly echoes through the empty room "did you learn about the Kyuubi attack in your school?" he asks.

"We did, actually I remember when that happened. When my mom found out Ikkaku was killed by it, she didn't come home for a week…and now that I think about it, Kinzoku-sensei was acting really weird too." She turns away from the photographs to face her brother "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

"What can we do? We have to play the cards we're dealt. Look at us now; I'd say it's finally working out, wouldn't you?"

Again, Iruka's words and aura remind Bri of Kinzoku. Her eyes widen "OH! Do you think…" she runs down to the end of row of pictures "Iruka come here! Tell me which picture those old crotchety council members are in!"

Iruka walks over; the pictures on the wall are becoming older and more faded as he gets closer to Bri. "Well, I suppose they would be in one of the first ones, they're about 70 years old so… ah, here they are, you can tell because that's definitely Danzo-sama right there looking like an asshole," He laughs at his own joke as his sister pushes him out of the way "Uh, why exactly do you want to know?" he asks "If you're wondering if they're robots I'm right there with you."

"They told me they went to school with Kinzoku-sensei! That mean he should be in this picture, right?" she's running her finger over the dusty frame pausing briefly to examine each boys face, she almost reaches the end when she suddenly stops and beams at the photograph "This is him! Look at him Iruka! He's so cute and small! …What is that he's holding?" she turns to her brother inviting him to come take a closer look.

This picture is in black and white, but the light eyes of the boy are still stunning, he's squinting one eye and a sideways smile runs across his face, he's cradling something in his hands "It looks like, maybe, a wind-up toy? Like a metal bird?" Iruka's face is about an inch from the glass "It's so hard to see Bri, I'm not completely sure."

He turns back to look at Bri and catches her wiping the tears from her cheeks, she quickly closes her eyes and smiles, "That makes sense! He made me a wind-up toy for my birthday one year. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore, it's long gone now."

She moves closer to get another look at the picture "It's weird; I would have done anything to grow up here, have friends like that, to graduate from a school like this. He had all of that and just left it behind to become some nobody out in the country. He never even told me about this place."

"I guess the lifestyle here is enticing to outsiders, but the kids that grow up here have to witness and do really horrible things. Some people are less resilient than others, they can't handle it. They want to contain their past in some type of box, throw it away, start over and try and forget. Your sensei was probably like that, and, I mean, isn't that really why you're here?"

"Well no, I came here to find you." Bri replies.

Iruka raises his eyebrows "Those types of people eventually find out it's impossible to run from their past. Your experiences define who you are, just keep that in mind."

With that Iruka begins to walk towards the door "I've got to go check on a few things before the kids get here, try and finish setting up the chairs please!" he calls to Bri as he closes the door behind him.

It was a weird feeling, to look the past in its face. Bri was staring at the one thing Kinzoku never wanted her to see. He didn't even look very different, the light was there shining out of his blue eyes, and the peculiar tilted smile. No matter what had happened to him, he somehow managed to get back to that boy. That boy was the man that Bri knew and loved.

But that's wasn't the person he died as. He died as a desperate man, a hopeless man; maybe that man was the past he was running from.

The day Bri was brought in for questioning, she lied. Kinzoku wasn't killed by thieves; he was killed by his own hand, in the presence of thieves. But she couldn't tell anyone that, especially the Hokage who thought so highly of him and the other villagers already looked down on him as a deserter; it would only add another unnecessary stain to his name.

But that was only a small part of it. They would have demanded to know why he did it. Surely, a man like that had a choice, he was in a home filled with weapons he had built himself, he was strong, he had a reason to live, a child to take care of. So, why?

The Joryoku twins; the two kids whose existence Bri had kept a secret from everyone in Konoha. The ones whose faces she has been desperately trying to bury under piles of new experiences.

That night had been the turning point; it was the moment where Bri ceased to be a smiling kid in a dusty class picture. She heard the entire thing from under the floor boards. To this day she can still recall the confrontation in prefect detail.

"Alright you old fuck, where are they?" one had said. Then there was a crash. A shuffle. The distinct sound of a cough full of blood. "We can do this all night my friend, it's been two generations since a trained Joryoku has shown up, there's nothing you can do. Your life isn't worth shit to us." Heavy breathing. Something shatters. More shuffling.

"Fuck you." The sound of Kinzoku spitting. The sounds of Kinzoku being choked.

"This piece of shit thinks he's gonna die a hero?" The sound of a forceful hit and a body hitting a shelf. "I bet you wish those Joryoku kids were here right now, huh gramps?" Another loud noise. Another blood filled cough. "They must have really loved you huh? After all you taught them, they're not even here when you need them the most!" The sound of a group of men laughing. "Listen my friend, even I got a conscious. I can't keep fucking up an old dude like you, either you talk now or I let my buddy here take a nice long look into that demented old brain of yours."

The sound of her sensei clearing his throat "Dirty hands like that are never going to touch my students. I'll do what it takes to make sure you never find them."

Movement. A scuffle. A breathless heave. "Watch out! You old fuck! You can't stab us all with that shit piece of porcelain!" The sound of someone falling to their knees. The sound of people moving. The sounds of her sensei struggling to escape.

"Get that fucking Morino boy over here RIGHT NOW!" Another crash. The bump of heavy boots walking over her head. "Find out where the fuck this guy is hiding the kids! Do it now rookie!"

The sound of silence. The sound of something dripping down onto the basement floor. The taste of iron on her lips. The relieved sigh of a tired old man. The feeling of her blood pumping faster inside of her head.

"SHIT! This old fuck. The psycho cut his own femoral artery. You fucking sick fuck!"

The feeling of all the breath leaving her body at once. The feeling of her knees splitting open and she collapsed onto the dirty basement floor.

"Someone wrap this guy up! Morino get the fuck over here we still have time!" The sounds of men arguing. The deafening beating of her own heart.

The sound of her sensei spitting out his last resolve "I won't let this happen again, not over my mother fucking dead body."

An overwhelming dizziness. A vision of fading light.

Bri woke up that next morning completely hallow. She emerged from the cellar to find an empty blood soaked house. Her sensei was laying lifeless in the middle of the room, the morning sun illuminated him like some fucked up ancient painting.

There had been a hint of triumph frozen in his eyes, but his face was broken. It was almost as if she could read his last thought _I'm sorry, tell me this was the only way. Forgive me. Protect them._

Now, how could she come clean? How could Bri tell all of Konoha, she couldn't protect the children that her sensei gave his life for? How could she tell them that his death only pushed the twins closer to the edge? How does she begin to explain that it was unavoidable, that he died in vain; that those two children are out there right now using their powers exactly how those thieves wanted them to?

She can't admit that. That was the part of her life she desperately wanted to place into a box and bury. That was the regret that bubbled up every time she watched the carefree children spar at the academy.

Maybe if she had been stronger. Maybe if she had been able to somehow play that night over for the twins, the way she saw it. Maybe if she was somehow able to remove that anger that ran through their Joryoku blood for endless generations.

The clamor of the graduates began to echo through the hall. Bri rubs her eyes and plasters a smile across her face. She could hear the box in her mind locking up once more.

"Bri-sensei! Did you miss us?!" a young brunette girl comes ripping down the aisle and gives Bri a big hug "I hope you picked a good genin team for me! You know I'm gonna get the first S-rank mission in the class! OH HEY, are you in this picture?" the girl gets on her tippy toes and tries her hardest to find Bri's face in the black and white crowd.

"Oh my god, you don't really think I'm that old do you?" Bri replies as a genuine grin lights up her face, maybe right now there's a real chance that everything will work out.

"BRI! What have you been doing?" Iruka's voice startles the teacher and her student "You forgot the set up the chairs! Everyone is outside already!"

Bri cringes at the little girl and sends her away "Ah, I'm so sorry I got a little carried away looking at these pictures, Just give me five more minutes!"

The graduation ceremony went exactly as planned. The parents all cried, the kids struck stupid little poses as Iruka handed them their diplomas, there were laughs and there were long dramatic speeches. It was bitter sweet, but it really dragged on. Bri couldn't wait to get out of there.

She had been spending a lot of nights at home the past few weeks. Iruka was busy with testing, Kakashi was busy avoiding the Hokage and the elders, Genma was well…she didn't want to hang out with him, and Yamato was sent away on some Anbu mission.

But today when she reached her front door, she felt the sudden need to be surrounded by people. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts, they haven't been cooperating today. So she walked over to Naruto's apartment, maybe he could distract her for a while.

It takes almost a full minute for the teenager to answer the door, when he does he's out of breath "Oh! Bri it's just you…I just cleaned up for no reason!"

Bri looks over Naruto's shoulder and into his apartment, it's a disaster area. There was a reason seventeen year old boys weren't supposed to live on their own.

"…you cleaned?" she said with an eyebrow raised.

"Well yeah! No one ever knocks on my door, I thought it mighta been someone important like Grandma Tsunade, or Captain Yamato," He pauses and looks around Bri "so, uh, what's wrong? Is someone bothering you? Is it Sai? Please tell me it's not Sai! Last time he didn't leave for two whole days!"

Bri scratches her nose in an attempt to hide her smile "No, actually I just wanted to see if you were hungry. Do you want to come over for dinner?"

Naruto tries and fails to hide his surprise "Uh, just me?"

Bri blushes "Ah, I'm sorry is that weird? I just..."

"What no way! It's totally cool! It's just that no one has ever invited me over for dinner before."

She sends him a confused glance "Really? Well, I'm not the best cook but I guess that doesn't matter now does it?"

They make the short trip next door and Bri begins to prepare the meal.

"You know you and Iruka-sensei are super alike," Naruto says as he sits down at the kitchen table "He was the first person to take me out and buy me food, and you're the first person to cook me food! Why are you guys so obsessed with food?"

Bri lets out a laugh as she chops the veggies "Feeding people is a good way to show you care about them. Ask Sai, I'm sure he read that in a book somewhere."

"Ugh, don't remind me about Sai. He probably back from his mission with Captain Yamato by now. I bet he'll be over here first thing in the morning…he still thinks it's HIS mission to watch you."

"Oh really they're back already?" Bri fails to hide the excitement in her voice; thankfully teenage boys are perpetually oblivious.

"I think so. They didn't go too far away, something weird happened up north of here. I don't know what exactly but they didn't have to leave the land of fire."

Smells of lemon and chicken filled the apartment "Ooh exciting, I wonder what it was. I used to live up north you know."

"Hopefully it's the beginning of an S-rank mission! I've been so bored since the war! I need to get out of here."

Bri laughs loudly as she places their dinner onto the plates "You mean the war where you saved us all?"

"Well…I guess, yeah."

"Honey, there's a good chance you hit the peak there. You might be doomed to boredom forever."

"I can do better. We can all become better than we were yesterday." He says as he sits down at the table with Bri.

"Hey, that's pretty cliché!"

"Thanks!" he replies, mouth already full of food.

Bri smiles, It was overwhelmingly nice to finally hang out with a stupid happy kid again. Also she was now super excited about the morning, she's really curious to find out what happened up north.


	11. Chapter 11

**Daylight came suddenly.** Bri woke up to a sharp pain in her gut, an empty ice cream container in her hand and a playing card stuck to her cheek. She peeled the card from her face and stood up to find Naruto fast asleep on the other side of the coffee table.

"AY! That was some wild night, huh kid? I think we ate over five thousand calories each!"

Naruto rolls over on the floor and blindly tosses a pillow at Bri's head "I can't move from this spot. Just leave me here to die."

Bri laughs and begins to collect all the trash from the night before, when there's a loud knock on the door. She answers it to find Captain Yamato and suddenly remembers why she was so excited for his return.

"Kitty-san! Welcome home! I heard you were up north by my old village. We missed you!"

"We?" Yamato squints "What the hell happened in here? It looks almost as bad as Naruto's place."

"HEY! If I could move right now I'd make you take that back!" Naruto yells out from behind the small table.

"Wh-" Yamato begins.

"Me and Naruto had a little impromptu ice cream party. I was feeling pretty sad after the graduation so he came over to cheer me up…I think we ate a bit too much though."

"I see," Yamato leans forward and picks another playing card out of Bri's un-brushed hair "I'm glad you guys had fun. But I actually have to speak to you about something serious, Bri."

Bri is staring at the card in his hand, flustered "Right! Could I get dressed first? I probably have a few more cards stuck to me somewhere…"

"Well no, this is pretty important. I wanna tell you before anyone else does. Please, just come outside."

"Kitty-san, you're scaring me" she says shutting the door behind her.

"Bri, I understand that when you left your village it had been recently attacked. Is that right?"

"Yeah…most of the buildings were destroyed. It was terrible."

"Do you know if anyone survived the attack?"

Bri could feel her heart in her throat; she wiped the sweat from her hands onto her skirt "W-why would that matter? What's going on?"

"Well, whatever was left or rebuilt is now completely gone. It seems a forest fire completely wiped out the area and about ten square miles of the surrounding forest…I know this is hard for you to hear…I'm so sorry, but we need to know if anyone could be out there."

Bri looks down at the ground trying desperately to hold back her tears "Seriously, It's really gone? The tree from my backyard…Sensei's grave…" She chokes back a sob and almost loses her balance.

Yamato grabs her shoulders crouching down to find her eyes "Bri…after the attack did you see anyone? We're there any survivors?"

Her eyes are hallow; Yamato could feel her looking right through him.

"I saw my mother lying there under the rubble and I left. I never came back. There was nothing left for me there."

"So, you're saying you don't know."

"It's possible people survived. Maybe some people stayed around there…maybe there was someone I could have saved."

"Listen Bri, This isn't the time to reflect on your past. We need you to come back north with us. You need to help us look for the survivors, you know the terrain and you know the people. Maybe you can even help us figure out what caused the fire."

"I don't think I can do that," Bri vacant stare seems endless "Good luck, Yamato" she turns and begins to open the door.

"Bri, Please. We can't do this without you. You have to face the facts. This is what it means to be a Konoha ninja."

Yamato's words settled into her stomach. How dare he tell her how to react? Part of her life had just been completely erased off the map, in time no one will even remember the Village in the Pines. Is it abnormal to react like this? Were the people here really all just like emotionless robots, cold blooded murderers, people who place strength over everything else? She felt nauseous. Was this the type of person she had really wanted to become?

"Come back later, I need to clean my house." Bri slams and locks the door behind her. She walks over and collapses onto her couch. She had forgotten all about Naruto sleeping in her apartment.

She begins to sob into her hands; no thoughts even cross her mind. She opens up and lets her body try and purge the grief. After a few seconds she feels a warm hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Bri. I heard everything Captain Yamato said. He's a hard guy to understand and he's cold sometimes, especially when he's scared about something. Don't let him bother you."

Bri tries to catch her breath as she wipes the tears from her puffy face "Thank you Naruto. I just need some time to think everything through."

Naruto sends her a warm smile "Well! I hope you do decide to come with us…I mean I assume I'm going too…I better be!" He stands up and heads for the door "Bri, even if you don't decide to come, I promise you I'll find your friends and family, and hopefully even some of your stuff!"

"Thank you, honey. I'm glad some people here aren't afraid to show their heart."

A forest fire during this time of the year is unlikely, and one that large beginning and ending so quickly is even stranger. We're there really any survivors of the attack back then? There were so many families devoted to the village, it's possible they stayed and tried to rebuild, they could have also migrated to the other close by villages. Those we're probably all destroyed now too.

Why was it that she was feeling guilty for abandoning a town? A village isn't sentient. A natural disaster is unavoidable. Then again, maybe a town does have a heartbeat, the collective pulse of all the villagers; her own distant pulse included. Maybe if she went there she could revive it. A town she never loved, a past she though she wanted dead. Maybe it could be saved.

Or maybe not. Maybe the empty charred landscape could be the foundation of her next chapter. She could watch the ashes of her past disappear into the wind, and she could finally be free.

Either way Bri knows there is no real choice, she needs to go there. A few hours later her apartment is spotless and her bags are packed. She is ready to run straight into the fire.

Bri decides not to wait for Captain Yamato to summon her; she walks right down to Tsunade's office herself.

"Oh Bri-san, welcome. I was just about to call for you! I see you have decided to join the Anbu mission up north."

"Yeah…I think I may need the closure."

In the office are the Hokage's assistant Shizune, Captain Yamato, Sai, and Kakashi. They all greet Bri with big smiles and waves, except for Yamato who avoids eye contact.

Tsunade gestures for Bri to take a seat and continues "As you're aware, it's been pretty peaceful since the war ended. It's hard to suspect foul play, but as me and the team have been discussing, a fire like this doesn't read as natural. It's spring and the weather up north hasn't been overly dry. We're thinking it may have been arson or maybe some human error."

Kakashi chimes in "Since you know the area you're going to help us navigate. So much has been destroyed, a lot of the landmarks have disappeared and the maps are pretty much useless. Do you know of any places your people may have fled to during something like this?"

"Well, there's a big lake to the northwest, they could have traveled there if they had time. I'm pretty sure that was the evacuation route my village had planned."

"Great, see we're making progress already," Tsunade said while taking a sip of her coffee "If this turns out to be a planned attack, the person is obviously very powerful. Just to be extra safe you four will treat this as a top priority Anbu mission. Do not reveal you identities to anyone you're not completely sure about. This isn't just a rescue mission, it's also an investigation. Do not let your guard down, and stay safe."

"Hokage-sama, would you be able to assign Iruka to this mission?" Bri's quiet voice is void of her usual confidence.

Yamato interrupts "Iruka really doesn't participate in missions outside of the village anymore, Bri."

Bri returns his comment with a cold look "I understand that, I just feel with his knowledge of history and geography he could be an asset to this team. Also, I feel comfortable working with him."

"Very well, I agree his trivial knowledge may actually come in handy here," The Hokage signs a few documents and stands up "Alright. Kakashi, this is your last mission before you become Hokage. I know I said that last time, but with a new member I really feel like you are needed. And Bri-san since Kakashi has failed to master your weapons; they will be given back to you for this mission. Keep in mind, the outcome will determine your life here in Konoha."

"Kakashi failed to master the gun?" Bri asks as a smile graces her face.

"Unfortunately, the gun seems to be tailored to your specific chakra level. At least that's the only conclusion I can come to," says Kakashi.

Yamato laughs "You mean that's the only excuse you can think of?"

"Shut up Yam, go get Iruka. He's probably going to need some of your gentle persuasion." Kakashi replies.

The three men file out and Bri stays behind "Tsunade-sama, is Naruto assigned to this mission as well?"

"Ah, have you two gotten close? That was the idea when I chose your living arrangements!" Tsunade glances over to Shizune and they both laugh.

"Well, he just told me he really wanted to come."

"Yes, what else is new? The kid thinks every mission is perfect for him, but he isn't really the information gathering, search and rescue type. I actually have something else I need him and Sakura to look into; I may decide to send them to you after."

"Oh alright, thanks for everything Hokage-sama. I promise I'll do my best to make you proud." Bri disappears before Tsunade can even reply.

She was in a rush to meet Kakashi in the equipment room. Bri may be having mixed feeling about returning home, but she can't say that she isn't excited for her first official mission.

Kakashi was waiting for her with a brand new uniform and much to her delight; it included her very own Anbu mask.

"Wow, this stuff is amazing. I've never seen a village equipment room like this, and this uniform is such good quality!"

Kakashi laughs, the room and the stuff are just mundane to him now. Watching Bri reminded him of himself as a child, trying on his father's over sized flak jacket, "It better be good quality, the village puts most of its money into the ninja program. Sometimes I think they fail to look at the bigger picture, maybe that's something I can do as the Hokage…I don't know."

Bri takes the uniform from him and walks over towards the changing room "Kakashi, Do you even wanna be the Hokage? It seems like you spend a lot of time running away from it."

"It's just not something I ever really planned for. It's an honor, really it is. I just don't know if I'm ready for the politics. Right now it's peaceful, if that changes I'll be the one they all blame. It's a lot of responsibility for one person."

Bri shuffles around behind the curtain, "I totally understand. Being responsible for other people is the hardest job in the world. Especially if you don't know what those people are capable of."

"And what would you know about that?"

"Oh, uh, let's just say there are a lot of things you can't control, you can only react…I guess that's just something I have trouble with, but I think that's something important for you to remember too! Now…" Bri steps out from behind the curtain in full gear, she even wearing her mask. Instead of a cat, hers is made to look like a wolf, "…how do I look?"

As Kakashi is about to answer Yamato, Sai and Iruka enter the room, "HA. Guess you can't call me Kitty-san anymore, huh Rover?"

"Very funny KITTY, I'm glad you decided to come down of your high horse." Bri's reply was riddled with sarcasm.

"Yeah…Listen I'm sorry about this morning,"

Iruka cuts Yamato off "Bri you look awesome! Where's my uniform?"

"Here you go," Kakashi says, handing him a pile of clothes "We were gonna give you the dolphin mask, but that might have been too obvious. So you get the shark."

Iruka's awkward laugh escapes him "So cool! I can't wait to tell you guys everything I know about up north. It's very interesting; really, I spend a whole unit every year teaching my youngest class about the forests."

Kakashi places a hand on Iruka's shoulder and laughs "Okay calm down there Captain Education, I have to tell you the specifics of the mission. So hurry up and get changed."

Meanwhile, Yamato approaches Bri "Can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

"How come? I did what you said. I'm here; I'm facing the facts, showing no emotions." Bri replies in a sharp whisper.

"Fine. Listen, I'm sorry I reacted like that. I just have a weird theory about this mission and it's making me nervous. I really wanted you to come because I know we're gonna need you. The fire was extremely strange; I'm worried about more than just the victims."

Bri uncrosses her arms, "Strange in what way?"

"Well, it was only me and a couple of other men out there, but none of us could find any evidence of the direction the fire came from. Also, the people from the surrounding untouched area were the only ones to call it in, and they all called in around the same time."

"That's impossible; the people closer to the origin must have seen it first and ran for help."

"Exactly, but they didn't."

"So, you're saying an entire 7,000 acre area just burst into flames at once with no warning?"

"It sounds crazy, but yes."

"How is that even possible? Was it some type of bomb?"

"I'm not sure, but whatever it was had to be something new. We're dealing with something very powerful that we haven't seen before. That's why I'm so uptight."

"Holy shit. You really think I'm going to be able to help you guys with something like that? I'm not even a real ninja."

Kakashi gets up and walks over to join the conversation "Hey now, didn't you just tell me we need to be able to deal with things out of our control?" His eye's close, Bri can tell he's smiling behind his mask "Nothing's more out of control than a wildfire, right?"

"Well…yeah, I guess," Bri replies.

Kakashi turns back towards the dressing room "Well then, let's go Iruka! It's takes a day and a half to get to the Village in the Pines; I hope you're ready for a marathon rookie!"

Iruka emerges slowly, revealing his mask last.

Bri audibly gasps "Iruka that is literally the creepiest thing I have even seen," she begins to laugh hysterically "It doesn't suit you at all!"

"Well the point is to hide my identity is it not? Now I look the most intimidating out of everyone here. No one will wanna start shit with me!"

Suddenly, Sai decides to get a word in "Your demeanor shows clearly through your mask, you will not seem intimidating to an enemy unless you truly believe that you are."

Iruka rolls his eyes "Ah Sai, I see you've been keeping up on your readings. This is my first mission in a long time, how about giving me a break, eh?"

"There won't be a break for another thirty hours; I hope that's okay with you Sensei."

"…That's not what I meant…"

Kakashi ends the banter "Alright everyone, let's head out now. Iruka, stay near me. I need to give you all the details. Bri, stay in between Sai and Yamato as we move. We'll be taking a short rest every five hours. Always stay on high alert, let me know if you sense anything strange."

Bri's childhood dream is becoming a reality at this very moment, but something is off. This isn't how she imagined it to be. She has no mother to write home to; no sensei to see her off and her comrades were all men she had just recently met.

However, as she ran towards the village gate warmth filled her up. Planning is silly, just like the bad parts; the best parts of your life come as surprises. All we can really do is react.


	12. Chapter 12

**The team arrives at the border of the damaged forest before noon the next day.** The air is incredibly thick and the soft breeze sends ash into Bri's eyes. They were still about an hour's walk away from her village, but the insane contrast of burnt landscape and green grass around the affected area made the entire team freeze in awe.

Iruka crouches down to examine the untouched grass "How is this possible? The border is so crisp; doesn't this suggest the fire stopped all at once? That seems highly unlikely given the nature…"

"Yeah, that's what I was telling Bri before we left. Something really strange happened here, the place just feels dangerous," says Yamato as he steps into the charred forest.

The men file in behind him while Bri remains fixated on the tops of the tall barren pines. Her sensitive ears can still hear the crackling of the embers reaching the very tops of trees. Further ahead she notices some higher branches are still burning. The men are so busy looking down at the singed earth they don't notice they're walking right underneath the fire.

"Hey guys! Look up that thing's gonna," before she can finish a loud cracking sound echoes through the forest, the huge branch was beginning to break off "MOVE! MOVE!" she is screaming as she runs towards the team.

Iruka's reflexes are rusty to say the least. The smoldering tree branch hits the back of his leg as he tries to jump to safety. The weight and the heat begin to melt away the bottom of his pants.

Before he can react Bri is by his side, she picks up the burning limb and holds it in her bare arms. With much effort she manages to toss it away and Iruka quickly sits up.

"Are you okay?!" Bri says desperately as she bends down to look at her brother's leg. She touches his exposed skin, her hands are wet and cold.

"I'm fine. Are YOU okay? You just picked up a twenty pound burning branch with you bare hands!" Bri looks as though her heart has stopped beating, she looks down at her hands, there isn't a mark to be seen.

"HEY! What the hell was that? Have you been hiding your jitsus from us this entire time?"

Bri is frozen in place as Kakashi marches towards her "I can explain. This jitsu, I can't control it at all, I just acquired it a few months ago. I have no idea what it is, it's not much, really all it does it protect me from burns."

Kakashi grabs her hands and looks down at her palms "Your hands are cold. What exactly just happened?"

"It's some type of water jitsu, sometimes when I get too close to something hot this water just appears around my arms. It doesn't stick around and it doesn't even work all the time. I've even tried burning myself on purpose to activate it, but nothing happens." Bri looks up at Kakashi and pulls her hands away "I'm sorry, I should have said something."

"Was your mother a water type?" Iruka chimes in, "sometimes extreme stress can cause a jitsu to emerge later in life," He gets up and walks over to the pair.

"No, my mother had no jitsu, unless an incredibly high alcohol tolerance counts." Bri smiles and the guys laugh.

"We have to get to the village as soon as we can, we can talk more later." Kakashi says as he walks back towards the confused Yamato and Sai.

"Did she just perform a water jitsu?!" Yamato whispers to Kakashi as they continue.

"Yeah, but it was extremely weak, nothing to be worried about. Seems like a stress reaction, she must be a late bloomer." Kakashi's eyes reveal his hidden smile.

"She's already twenty three years old; don't you think that's a bit ridiculous?"

"Come on Tenzo, you were a weird kid with some crazy kekkei genkai, you can't really judge her. I mean, she is Iruka's sister, and he still hasn't really mastered any ninjitsu. Maybe the Umino's are just slow,"

He chuckles and looks back at the siblings, "Hey Iruka maybe if you concentrate real hard you can do it too! I believe in you buddy!"

Iruka blushes and shots Kakashi an evil eye, "Fuck you, Hatake."

He turns to his sister, completely softening his tone "You know, there's a really high change your mother actually did have a water nature, maybe she just never channeled it"

Bri laughs "Well she did make damn sure she led a stress free life. You could be on to something."

"The country of fire actually had many water types before the formation of the village system, but do you know why there are virtually none left?"

"…You're going to tell me aren't you…"

Iruka smiles and grabs Bri's shoulder; he sets the scene, waving his hand dramaically in front of them.

"Looooong ago, the Kawa clan ruled those mountains way up ahead of us. At the top of those mountains is a huge glacier, now, during the spring, it melts and floods the valley filling that lake near your village. Back then the clan actually controlled the glacier. They had the ability to summon water from the great glacier at will!"

Bri yawns "Uh huh…"

"Anyway… this power was obviously extremely great, these people could summon raging rivers in a matter of seconds, flood villages, even summon ground water to the surface, and they eventually became afraid of themselves. If one child was to be raised with bad intentions they would have the ability to damage the entire world. So, in order to weaken their power the people decided to only marry outside of the clan. They did this for many generations. Now almost no one is this country posses a water nature, and if you do, even just slightly, it means you are a descendent of the great Kawa clan!"

"Wow, well at least one of my ancestors was cool," Bri replies with a half smile.

"Yup, and they're still up there watching you now. It's a nice thing to remember."

An hour later they enter a vast opening in the forest. The sky is dark gray and the earth is buried in ashes. In the clearing it's silent, there are no trees to creak in the breeze, no rustling of leaves, and there isn't even a bird or a bug in sight. It is so impossibly quiet; the team doesn't even dare to breath. This is the area Bri believes to have been her old home.

"This is it, only a couple of homes had stone walls around them. Those were the Joryoku family houses. Every other place was made of pine. The stone walls can be our map."

"Isn't it kind of short sighted to only make the buildings out of wood where wild fires can get to them?" Yamato asked.

"Well the majority of the town was pretty poor. I'm guessing after the initial attack they all had even less money and were forced to rebuild with whatever they could afford, or chop down. Apparently even the Joryokus' had to rebuild in wood."

Bri began to wander deeper into the devastated town, the rest of the team followed.

Throughout the day they call out for survivors and turn over countless piles of rubble, nothing but bodies are found. The entire afternoon is mentally draining for all of the team. All together they had found almost a hundred bodies and a few of them were children.

Bri's entire body is empty; she feels like a swift breeze might blow her over to the next barren town. As she rounds a large pile of rubble she spots a lone pine tree standing in the distance. It's the tree from her yard, her sensei's final resting place, the only thing still standing on this side of the village.

Bri uses her remaining energy to jog towards it, and she collapses on the inscribed rock, "Sensei! You're still here. I'm so sorry. I really let you down."

Tears stream down her dirty face as she removes her weapons and places them onto the grave. She bows and kneels onto the dirt, "I messed up, big time. The twins, they lost their way, I couldn't help them. I was a coward. They changed so much; I could only help myself. Sensei…I'm a Konoha ninja now. I know about your life there, I know you ran away from it,"

She pauses to catch her breath, a few tears fall from her eyes and wet the ashy ground. She pounds the gravestone with her fist "GOD! I wish someone was here to tell me I'm doing the right thing. What the fuck am I doing?! There's no one left!" She gets up and wipes the dirt from her knees.

"…Bri? Did you find something?" The rare warmth in Yamato voice instantly calmed her entire body.

"Oh, uh, no. I'm just rambling to an old rock and some rotten bones," she turns to him smiling and shaking her head, her voice cracks "I shouldn't have left this place…I have no right to be here now."

She tries to hold back her breakdown but it's no use. Yamato pulls her in, pressing her ear into his chest. She can hear his heart beating; it's steady and loud. She almost wants to just fall asleep. She tries to take a deep breath, but it ends up being a bunch a shallow ones, her breathing is always like this when she's upset, and she hates that. It makes her feel weak. But she doesn't want to pull away, she's so warm, she's so comfortable, she can smell the smoke on his shirt.

"I'm sorry I asked you to come here, this is much worse than I thought. I can't believe this town doesn't even have one fire resistant building."

Suddenly, Bri's eyes snap open and she is freed from the trance of Yamato's beating heart "WAIT! Kitty-san, There's one place we didn't check!"

She pulls away and grabs her weapons off the grave, kneeling down to kiss the stone "Thank you Kinzoku-Sensei," she whispers.

Bri grabs Yamato's hand and starts running toward the rest of the team, "There's a big stone mausoleum down the road, outside of the town. It belongs to the Joryoku family and everyone was afraid of them so no one ever went down there. I bet it's still standing, a lot of people knew about it! Maybe, hopefully, there are some people there."

They're both almost out of breath when they reach the guys "Yo! There's one more place we have to look!"

Five minutes down the dirt road the smell of smoke strengthened. Ten minutes down the road and a warm light could be seen through an ancient stone doorway. Eleven minutes down the road and the team had strapped on their masks and began to hold their breath.

Kakashi was the one to announce their arrival, "Hello? We represent the village of Konoha! We're here to help you, please come out!

Only Bri's ears could pick up the almost silent conversation going on inside. It sounded like a woman and a few different children. No. Maybe it was two women.

The dark empty eyes and unkempt hair of a small boy peer over the stone windowsill, the team stares at him transfixed for a moment, forgetting they are hidden behind painted masks.

The boys eyes widen before he finally speaks, "…forest spirits?"

A sharp whisper cuts the tension "Tamotsu-chan! What are you doing? Get back!"

The boy disappears, a moment later a middle aged woman takes his place. Thick black waves of hair reach down past her shoulders, she's wearing a nurse's uniform. She looks like she's lived about one thousand lives, but somehow that makes her more beautiful.

"Um, hello, my name is Joryoku Sora. I'm so happy you finally found us."

Behind her mask Bri cannot breathe, her sweaty hands are balled into tight fists underneath her poncho.

Bri always thought the twins' mother to be more fragile than a snowflake. Have you ever been so wrong you had to repent in that very moment? Not only had this woman lived through one thousand horrible lives, she had been completely reborn.

Yamato turns to Bri, he watches silently as a bead of sweat falls from her chin to the floor, or maybe it was a tear.

"Sora-san, were happy to see you too. Our mission states we cannot reveal our identities, because the source of the fire is still unknown. My apologies, but it would be better if we could see how many people you have with you." says Kakashi.

"Oh yes of course. I'm making some soup, I'm sure you're all hungry. Please, come in."

Inside the mausoleum a pot of boiling water is the centerpiece. Five children and an elderly woman sit around it on hospital blankets. Without the light of the fire, the room would have been completely dark. Once the team enters, four of the five children move quickly behind the old woman. The only child that remains is the little boy from before.

"Kids you don't have to be scared. These people are some of the best ninjas in the country. They came here to help us. How lucky is that?"

The old woman's face is hard and narrow; she turns away from them with a huff. Two little heads pop out from behind her; they belong to very young, very skinny girls.

"Do you like soup?" One girl says looking directly into the holes of Bri's mask.

Bri finally remembers how to speak "Of course honey, who doesn't like soup on a cold day?"

The little girl laughs and walks over to her "You can have some of mine. I love doggies! Ruff ruff!"

Bri smiles and touches her mask; she forgot she was dressed up like a wolf.

"You have so many children. Where is your husband?" Sai unexpectedly blurts out.

Bri's heart sinks.

Yamato punches Sai in the shoulder, "I'm sorry, the kid has impulse issues," he says.

Sora smiles and sits down next to the pot of soup, "This isn't exactly my family. I'm a nurse; these are the patients from the hospital."

She pulls bowls from a sack and begins to dip them into the pot, filling them each to the rim with chicken broth.

"You know that saying _only the strong survive_? Well that saying has never once rang true for me," she continued "Here we are, me, the weakest person I have ever known, and them the weakest group of people in all of the village. Somehow we've survived. Isn't that strange?"

"I suppose so…" said Kakashi.

"I'm sorry. I get lost in my head when strange things happen. I was just thinking that maybe we were spared. The fire was very strange. It was like someone had turned on a gas stove to the highest flame and abruptly turned it off. Like nature changed its mind, decided not to kill us today."

"That's exactly what I thought had happened," said Yamato, absentmindedly sitting down right next to the little boy. Sora hands him a bowl of soup, "Sora-san, could you tell us more about the fire?"

"Well, there isn't much to tell. But I did experience this strange feeling right before, I don't know." She motions for Bri to come over and take a bowl of soup. When Bri reaches to grab the bowl, Sora stares at her sweaty hands for what felt like an eternity. Using the slightest pull Bri breaks the woman's grip and moves to sit next to Yamato.

"A strange feeling?" Yamato pried.

Sora let out a sigh "You're going to think I'm crazy, but right before the fire sprang up I swore I could feel my daughter squeezing my hand. I have visions of her often but never something that intense. After, I had this horrible anxious feeling, so I decided to bring the patients out a bit early for their daily walk. Ten minutes later everything went up in flames. I swear every part of the town lit up at once. Thankfully we were close enough to this building."

"Where is your daughter now?" asked Kakashi.

Bri choked on her soup.

"She and her brother ran away around five years ago. I haven't heard for them since." She spoke those words with a surprisingly even tone, like a woman retelling some tired old fable.

Kakashi grabs his bowl and sits next to one of the skinny girls, she scoots two feet in the opposite direction, he pays her no mind, "They ran away?"

"I don't blame them really. The life I gave my children was shit to say the least. I'm sure they ran away because of their father. Honestly there was nothing I could do to protect them, he was a tyrant, and like I said I'm the weakest woman I know."

She stood up and handed the remaining bowls out to the youngsters; Sai included, and scraped the last bit out for the old woman.

She continued, "The cruel irony is, their father was killed a few weeks later. It was a freak accident. Oh, and it was another example of the strong perishing before me."

"He died?!" The words jumped from Bri's mouth before she could control their tone.

Sora just laughed in response, so did the children "I'm glad my story telling still has its strong effects!"

Yamato leans in very close to Bri's ear, he whispers, "Bri, do you need some air?" She nods in response.

Yamato nudges Bri and they both stand up "Excuse me, but we have to have another look around the grounds before it gets too dark. It's protocol."

Kakashi looks through the open doorway toward the fading light outside, he sends the couple a nod of approval and the two leave the building.

Outside in the graveyard of dead trees, Bri could finally breathe again "Kitty-san, I have to tell you something. It's something that woman is probably telling the guys right now."

Yamato glances back at the cold building and takes her by the hand; they walk silently down the road to a lonely stone wall.

"You know her don't you?"

"Yeah, actually I know her very well."

"Did you know her children? …her husband?"

"I left with them."

"Who?"

"Atarashi and Bo. The twins. They studied under Kinzoku with me. When they left the village five years ago… I went with them."

"So… you hadn't been living here before you came to Konoha?"

"No. I came by briefly after the attack last year, but I left right after I saw my mother was killed. No one even noticed I was here."

"Why did you lie to us?"

"They're bad people. I couldn't take care of them like Kinzoku wanted, I was so young. I was afraid if you all knew what we did those past couple of years you would have never accepted me. I was desperate."

Yamato smiled, it was one of those smiles that opens your chest, it blows the ten tons of shit off your shoulders.

"Bri, the Konoha ninjas have more dirty laundry than any other people on earth. I'm sure if you explain this to Kakashi whatever you did will be forgiven. Let's go back; maybe we can talk to him first."

"Don't you even want to know what happened?"

"It can't be any worse than the things us Foundation kids did growing up. I promise you. Of all people, we will understand."

This moment had been played out in Bri's mind countless times. She was taken back, of all the possible scenarios; blind acceptance never crossed her mind.

After a few minutes and some not-so-gentle persuasion Bri and Yamato re-enter the building "It all looks safe out there, we should spend the night here and move on in the morning."

"Right," Kakashi replies "While you were gone Sora here was telling us something very interesting." He turns to the woman who's now cradling the youngest patient in her arms; whoever it was they were still so young you couldn't tell if they were a boy or girl.

She doesn't look up from the sleeping baby, "Where was I? Oh, yes, my children. They were the first Joryoku clan members to be trained in pine ember jitsu in over one hundred years. They studied here under a nice old man known as Kinzoku. The only person in the world sweeter than him was his other student, her name was Umino Bri."


End file.
